Isekai no Shirokishi Monogatari
by Asakust
Summary: Ichika is forcefully sent to the world of Geminar and is welcomed into a new life. A new adventure and a new harem awaits!
1. 000 A Forced Departure

**The Story of the White Knight from Another World.**

_(a Infinite Stratos x Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari crossover)_

**[Prologue - A Forced Departure]**

Orimura Ichika stared at the unknown black IS that stood at the center of tournament battle field. It just stood there, in the middle of the burning wreckage of what could have been a container or missile used to penetrate the energy barrier that protected the arena from both internal and external attacks, with its weapons pointed at him.

He had tried to call the arena's control room, where he was sure his sister and teacher was, but something was jamming the signal. He had examined the exit points only to find that the shield strength was at level 4... too high for even Byakushiki to cut through, especially when there is an IS with a two high density particle beam cannons ready to fire at him. It seemed that his only options were to defeat the Black IS or last long enough for the teachers to help him.

He had opted for the later at first, because he knew that his sister would chide him for being reckless. But then, his shield energy hit the half way mark and he realized his opponent was not a tournament grade model... it was a military grade. He was sure he'll run out of energy sooner than his enemy... and when that happens he'll have no means of fighting back. He didn't like that. Surely his beloved sister would understand his decision.

It was around that time that he noticed the pattern of its attack. It would shoot it's large high density cannons first, chase after him while firing low yield spread beam weapons keep his speed in check, and then return to the center and give him some reprieve. His mind had failed to consider it before, but now that he had decided to fight, his mind noted the probability that his opponent was an unmanned machine. A small part of him doesn't want to take that risk, but he'll just have to trust the absolute defense and his own reflexes... it was all he had.

So... with a clear mental voice he summoned his only weapon, Yukihira-Nigata, and triggered Reiraku Byakuya.

The trapped audience watched on with awe. The only male IS had finally drawn his weapon against the unknown enemy that seemed to be the cause of this incident. They watched as his sword opened up, like a dragon's mouth, and released a blade of light.

Orimura Chifuyu could only look on, prayed that a certain mad Scientist had not done anything to screw up.

Ichika took a stance, routed any energy he could spare to Byakushiki's wing thrusters for even a few extra meters per second of speed. And then he waited for the right moment.

The was an odd silence inside the area. Because this time the young man was not fighting to win... he was fighting for his life and maybe theirs. They watched as he got into position and stared down at his opponent. There was a moment of clarity for quite a few of the women and the young girls that have come to think of men as the inferior gender.

This was a man.

The silence was broken when the black IS' weapon fired. Ichika jumped high into the air, corrected his angle and triggered his last ignition boost towards his opponent. Without missing a beat, he positioned the tip of his energy sword straight towards the enemy's chest. If there was a pilot the Absolute Defense should kick in and put all its energy to preserving the pilot's life. If it was unmanned... then destroying the head is probably the best target to completely disable the machine.

But then to his surprise and everyone's horror, he and his weapon was held at bay by an unknown force.

'So she stole even Germany's new weapon.' Chifuyu silently thought to herself. Unsure whether she should applaud Tabane's foresight in adapting the weapon for this purpose or berate for her for stealing another country's weapon.

The black IS used its long and over sized arms to grab hold of Yukihira and Ichika arm. It pulled him in closer without much effort thanks to field that was holding Ichika in place. And before he could try anything to break free, the unknown IS started to shine brightly enveloping them both in the great white light.

Most of the could only cover or avert their eyes until it dissipated.

And when it did the were shocked to see that both the unknown IS and Byakushiki was gone; along with it the world's only male IS pilot.

Chifuyu wished that there had been a chance to properly say goodbye. But she knew that Ichika would rather face the challenges that might come; rather than to go along with their decision. So instead, she had conspired with Tabane to trap Ichika in the Arena and make the situation look like he had been disposed of.

'I'm sorry, Ichika. Take care.'

Steeling herself, Chifuyu put on her professional mask. She had a lot of work to do.

**[Prologue - End]**

**Author's Notes**: Usually when writing a fanfic, I send weeks on writing and rewriting a database of plots and my take on characters. And unfortunately by the time I'm almost done I start losing interest. So after finding and watching Tenchi Muyo spin off I decided to just start writing. I'm not going to follow Isekai's storyline. Heck I might not even finish. But I felt like trying something. The rest of the story will be set in the world of Geminar and its residents. Think of it as taking Ichika from a harem and sending him to a bigger harem.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Isekai no Seikishi no Monogatari or Infinite Stratos.


	2. 001 The Queen and The Knight

**The Story of the White Knight from Another World.**

_(a Infinite Stratos x Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari crossover)_

**[Chapter One - The Queen and the Knight]**

In the world of Geminar, the most common way to travel long distances is the floating land ship. The Swan, the personal vessel of Shitoreiyu's newly crowned Queen, Lashara Earth XXVIII, was probably the most beautiful of them all. This was because the Swan was not just a floating ship; it was a small castle on top of an small floating island that came complete with its own lake and forest (and with it a small ecosystem). No ship on Geminar came even close to its beauty. It was truly a ship fit for a queen.

The Swan was on its way to the Holy Land; a small semi independent state that is affiliated to a the Church, the Empire of Shitoreiyu, the Kingdom of Havoniwa and the Kingdom of Shurifon. The young queen was going to start attending Holy Land Academy, as it was the right of nobles and those capable of piloting a Seikijin, this year.

However, only days after her coronation, she was already a target for assassination. Several Seikijin were already on the Swan's grass deck fighting the Queen's only bodyguard, Chiaia Furan. The sound of heavy blades clashing, the gigantic stomps and the sound of energy bullets piercing the air was the chorus of the battle airborne battlefield.

Lashara watched the battle unfold from the roof garden of her castle. Her bodyguard was barely able to fight off three opponents on her own. In retrospect, maybe she shouldn't have ordered her to take it easy on them so that they could be captured alive. But she wouldn't be much of a ruler if she changed her mind simply because it would be more convenient. Not that she could send any new orders now. The enemy was smart enough to attack the ship's communication's system and yelling her command was basically telling her would be killers were she was. Fortunately should be arriving soon to back her up.

It was then that a bright light caught her attention. She turn around expecting to see an new assassin. But when the light dissipated the young queen was surprised to see two Dynamic Armor like machines that seemed to be locked in battle. The black one of the two seemed to resemble the Dynamic Armors that she was familiar with, because it completely covered the pilot. But the white one's armor left quite a bit of the pilot's body exposed, namely the face of a dark haired young man.

Lashara was about to demand that the two explain themselves, when she saw a hologram screen open and display the image of a black haired woman in between the two armors.

"Ichika, I'm sorry." the woman said solemnly.

"Chifuyu-nee!" young man in the white armor blurted out in surprise.

But the young woman in the display didn't acknowledge his call. Lashara realized that the projection was a prerecorded message for the young man.

"If you're viewing this message then it would be safe to say that Tabane was successful in sending you to another world. I'm sorry, but know that we were left with no other choice. But I'll leave explaining all of that to you up to Tabane. I had secretly Quantum Stored some of your things and a few mementos, and I've set Byakushiki to re-materialize them for you after you've unequipped. ... I'm sure that we'll never see each other again, but I'm confident that you'll be alright no matter where you are. After all you, are my brother. Take care. I love you."

Lashara stayed quiet even after the young woman's holographic message had shut off. It was now clear that these two were sent here from another world. It broke her heart a little, hearing the goodbye of family, but from the sound of things the alternative was something much more grave. Completely forgetting that there was a battle for her life right behind, her she continued listening as another projection opened this time featuring a different woman.

"Ikkun! I'm sorry that we had to send you away. But unfortunately, you've become a dangerous element to the course of history of our world. You probably won't understand! Nyahahaha! But don't feel bad it's not really that you're bad. It just that your being here that would be really bad. How bad you ask? I'll tell you! ..."

Ichika, and Lashara from the side, watched as the bubbly face of the purple haired young woman turned serious as she grimly mouthed the worlds, "World War Three."

Lashara noted that the young man "Ichika" had gasped in surprise. She understood the implications of war and could imagine what it could be like on a global scale, but she also felt that there was horror in the voice of the young man. How bad could a war possibly be in their world?

The young woman's expression became cheerful again. "... That's why we're sorry that we had to trick you into a fight with my Golem. Anyway, as you've been listening to our messages, Golem had transferred a large database that might come in handy to you. Along with that are the access codes that will lift all the limiters on Byakushiki's core."

The black armor large hands slowly let go of the white armor's arm and weapon.

"Lastly, and I hate that I have to do this, but the Golem has served its purpose. Golem! Safety Override, priority Command to Shinonono Tabane."

The black armor's dull red eyes suddenly flashed to life. "Confirmed!" said a eerily hollow voice.

"Initiate Self-Destruct Program."

"WHAT!" Ichika turned his head around and was surprised to see her.

"Program Activated! Self Destruct in 10, 9, 8..." black armor started glowing.

"Well then Ichika! Have a nice life there okay?" The woman in the message wave at him with a very mischievous smile.

"7, 6, 5.."

The young man tossed his sword and rushed towards her. "Get down!"

"4, 3, 2..."

Lashara, putting her pride aside and accepting the young man's order, did as she was told and crouched down right where she stood. To her amazement the young man took her in his machine's embrace and braced for the explosion.

"1... 0!"

True to the word of the woman from the recording the black armor exploded, taking a good chunk of the roof garden it was standing on.

The force of the explosion was enough to knock Lashara out for a moment. But when she came to, she realized that she was still in the arms of the young man. She felt no pain, just lightheaded. She was quick to notice that the young man was no longer wearing his armor. Instead he was left in a dark skintight suit that looked similar, although very plain in comparison, to what Seikishi wear to reduce the ill effects of Ahou on the human body.

A hiss and grunt of pain escaped his lips called her attention. She looked up and saw his blood stricken face. He flashed her a weak smile.

"Are you... hurt?" He asked with a lot of pain in his voice.

Lashara immediately shook her head, finding it hard to summon her voice at her first sight of blood. For the moment it didn't matter to her if she was injured. She wanted to give him a sense of relief, it was the least she could do for taking the blunt of the explosion for her.

He let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank goodness." before he lost consciousness.

Lashara tried to catch him, however, due to the difference of their size and weight the best that she could manage was prevent his head from hitting the now rubble covered floor. She noticed that there was a large bag lying next to them. She used what little strength her royal untrained body could muster to carefully place his head upon it.

"Your Highness!"

The young queen turned to the stair way and saw Chiaia who rushed to her side with her sword drawn.

"Are you alright?" To Lashara's surprised Chiaia picked up something long among the rabble. An unusual shaped sword. "Is he one of the assassins?"

"The explanation can wait. Chiaia, call someone for help! I want this man's injuries treated immediately."

"Eh?" Chiaia looked surprised to hear her liege say that. But then again she had failed to capture any of the other three assassins, so this unconscious man might be their only clue as to who was responsible.

"Hurry!"

Chiaia's body instinctively tensed up in surprise upon hearing the urgency in her mistress' voice, but immediately turned around to comply. "R-right away!"

Lashara watched as Chiaia sheath her sword as she ran inside the castle with the sword that she picked up.

"Ichika..." The young queen tested the name she heard the woman in the message call the young man in her arms. It felt right. No one would even suspect the truth if no one told them. "Ichika, don't die."

_[- - -]_

When Ichika opened his eyes, he was surprised to see a red haired young woman staring at him with a scowl on her face. Ichika was too shocked at the time, but a part of his mind registered that she looked rather dashing in her formal long skirted red suit she had on. For a moment it seemed like she wanted to hit him or something. But then she turn away from him and headed out the door.

Ichika stared at the door for a moment, half thinking that her rude departure was a prank or sorts and waited for her to come back. But she didn't. As his mind gradually woke up he remembered what had transpired prior losing consciousness.

He sat up and checked himself. He was naked mostly underneath the bed sheets. He was convered in bloody bandages, but it didn't look like he was hurt anymore. How odd. He then remembered the bag that appeared last night after the explosion was over. He appraised the room from where he sat, but didn't find it. Was it stolen? This place looked fancy enough not to need to steal from others. He turned to Byakushiki's closed form and mentally summoned the a visual interface. In the display he noted that it has almost been two days since he was attacked, and he's been out for at least a day. He opened the inventory window and relieved to see that his sister had stored more than just that bag.

He was about to choose to materialize something to wear when he heard voices from the outside the room.

They were barely audible until he heard a young girl raise her voice, "It'll be fine, so long as you all keep quiet about it. Now stay here and don't eavesdrop. That's an order."

The door opened. And to his surprise the blond girl from last night walked in then quickly closed the door behind her.

"I'm relieved to see that you're awake." she said with soft smile. "How do you feel?"

Ichika returned her smile. "It seems that my injuries to have completely recovered already. Thank you. But I'm just glad you're not hurt." Ichika had already used Byakushiki's hyper sensors to scan her for any damage injuries when he saw her faint and found none, but still he worried.

The girl's smile faltered for a moment, but then widened at his words; almost as if she found his relief surprisingly amusing.

"I am Lashara Earth the Twenty Eighth, Queen of Shitoreiyu. You're name is Ichika, am I right?"

Ichika just looked at in stunned surprised. He did think that she was some well mannered rich girl when he saw her. He was not sure which one to be more surprised of though, the fact that this young girl is a queen or that she already knew his name.

Deciding that she had toyed with him enough for now, "I'm sorry, but I overhead both your messages last night." she followed.

"Ah! I see." For a moment there, his still slightly sleepy mind thought the girl was a mind reader. "Anyway I'm Ichika, Orimura Ichika."

Lashara nodded, "Then Ichika, before anything else I wanted to ask you something."

"I'll answer anything I can."

"Then... I was really wondering about... that is... What happened to your Dynamic Armor?"

"My what?" Ichika looked surprised at the unfamiliar term.

"You know... that white armor you were wearing when you saved me."

"Ah! You mean my IS. It's right here." Ichika lift his right hand to show the white metal wristband.

Lashara looked at the device and frowned in disbelief. "How's that possible."

"A process called 'Quantum Conversion' stores the whole armor into data. If I need it, all I have to do is will it to equip... like this."

Lashara watched in awe as light instantaneously created fragments of metal that quickly interlocked around Ichika's right arm to form the Armor's hand. "Wow."

"If I don't need it anymore. I just have will it to unequip... like so."

Lashara watched, even more amazed, as the Armor turned into light before disappearing. She lightly squealed in delight, impressed by the short demonstration of another world's technology. "That's quite convenient."

"Um... Lashara..." before Ichika could choose a honorific to use the young queen raised her hand, which caused him to pause.

"I wouldn't mind if you called me by name." She placed both her hands on her waist, a habit of hers. "But for propriety and appearances it's probably best if you got accustomed to referring to me with 'sama'. Alright?"

Ichika gave her a slightly reluctant smile before nodding, "Then... Lashara-sama, am I really in another world?"

"Hmm..." Lashara unconsciously crossed her arms. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our current evidence suggest so."

Ichika sighed. "I see..."

"Well it's not all bad for you. This world has always welcomed people other worlds. Most of our culture and traditions are amalgamations and adaptations of those from another world."

"Really?" Ichika was surprised at that new piece of information.

Lashara nodded. "Although, you might actually want to keep that fact between us at least for a little while. It'll probably make your transition to our culture easier, less stressful and less troublesome"

"How so?"

"As I've said, people from other worlds are very welcome here. Probably a little too welcome. In the past our ancestors would fight over who'll be hosting them during their stay. It's seen as an honor and privilege."

"I see." Ichika decided to sort of compare it to his experience in IS Academy. Everyone seemed to want his attention since he was the only guy there.

"But it's especially troublesome for those who are sent from their world, rather than being summoned here. "

"Your people can summon people from another world?"

"If certain conditions are met, then yes."

Ichika let a unsure hum as he thought about the possibilities.

"You want to go home, don't you?" Lashara voiced the wish in his heart.

"I'd be lying if I said I don't. But I can't even find the will to be annoyed at Tabane after hearing what they had said."

Lashara thought back and remembered the threat of a massive war over one boy. It intrigued her, but decided that there would be time to get to know him better later.

"Ichika, I'd like to make you an offer."

"An offer?"

"I've taken a liking to you. How would you like to come with me?"

"What does that entail exactly?" asked Ichika with a confused expression.

"I'd like you to work for me. In exchange I'll help you settle and get used to this world."

Ichika wasn't sure what to make of her offer, but he couldn't feel any ill intentions from her. He pondered her suggestion, however, before he could come to a decision Ichika's stomach chose that moment to complain about being empty.

Lashara looked at him in surprise before letting out a hearty giggle. "Well I'll give you some time to think about it. I had my servants cook something for you. They should be here soon along with your possessions. I apologize for taking it, but I was curious."

Ichika nodded in acknowledgment. "I don't mind. Thank you."

Lashara accepted his gratitude with a nod of her own, before turning around and leaving the room.

Ichika plopped down on the bed once more. He really was in another world. He realized that it was hard to accept because he wasn't really sure how it happened. But then again, he wasn't sure how his IS' Passive Inertia Canceller works and yet he's come to accept that a machine can defy gravity without thrusters. Tabane was a one of a kind genius after all.

"I guess I'll just have to accept it."

_[- - -]_

Chiaia was frustrated. For the life of her, she couldn't imagine what it was about the man that interested Queen Lashara so much.

From what the queen was willing to share; the young man saved her from the explosion. But that was all. How did he get here? Who caused the explosion? What was his connection to their assailants last night? These questions remained unanswered. Then to puzzle her more, the queen had ordered her to tell everyone to treat him like him as a special guest and to make it look like he boarded the Swan during its stop at Shurifon's Kingdom's Yuran sky-port.

But what really worried her is the Queen's insistence on meeting and talking with the young man alone, and while he was still naked too. Chiaia was relieved to hear the young queen laughing about something for a moment. So at least she knew the young man hadn't attacked her liege yet.

Still... she didn't like being kept in the dark. She was more than just Queen Lashara's bodyguard. They were childhood friends. So it was annoying her to no end that Lashara was actually keeping secrets from her.

Moments after she heard Lashara laugh. Chiaia watched the door open and sighed, relieved that there nothing was out of place on the young queen's person.

Chiaia had wanted to reiterate her concerns, but decided otherwise. Her position as the Lashara's bodyguard gave her a certain amount of voice, but in the end it was the young queen's choice to listen or not.

_[- - -]_

The food Lashara's that the servants brought were surprisingly familiar. Ichika initially worried that he was going experience a palette shock equal to eating Cecilia's home cooking. But to his relief, most of the dishes' ingredients were familiar to him.

True to her word, the servants that brought him his food, came in with the bag that materialized that night. To his surprise they had even brought his katana, Lashara either trusted him or she wanted him to trust her. If it was the latter, her plan was working.

He watched the three women work around the room. The middle aged woman, who introduced herself as Maya, was unpacking his few belongings neatly into a cabinet. Angela, a young brown haired woman who Ichika guessed was about his sister's age or younger, was pealing some of the fruits for him. While Vanessa, a lavender haired young woman, had gone to the bathroom after Maya had asked her to draw prepare some hot water.

"Thank you for the meal." Ichika said as he finished the whole tray of food.

"Was it to your liking, Ichika-sama?" asked Maya.

"It was delicious!"

"I see. I shall send your compliments to the cook." Maya stated as she eyed Angela with a knowing look. Ichika noticed and had taken a moment to smile at her. Angela blushed a little, but she returned the smile with a one of her own.

"The bath is ready." Vanessa said as she walked backed into the bedroom.

Maya nodded her head in confirmation. "Now then, Ichika-sama. Angela and Vanessa will help you bathe."

"EH?" to say that Ichika was shocked would be an understatement. Sure it was something like that was common in an anime setting... could it be what Lashara was talking about? "You don't have too. I can't wash myself."

"Of course. But your back was injured. It'd be best if someone help you, at least until you're wounds have healed." Maya said as she clap to signal the two to carry out her command.

Angela and Vanessa were quick to reach his side and carefully peeled the dirty bandages. Both of them gasped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Maya asked, slightly worried.

"They're all better..." Vanessa managed even though she was just as bewildered as Angela who's jaw was still dropped.

Maya walked over to their side and saw that they were indeed completely healed. "Amazing! Do you always heal this quickly, Ichika-sama?"

Ichika was about to tell them that it was a first, but then his conversation with Lashara about keeping his origins a secret came to mind. So he decided to lie for now. Though he felt guilty lying to such nice people, he figured Lashara knew what she was talking about and it was best to follow her advice for now.

"Yes. I've always been quick to get better." He lied, although he made a mental note to closely examine himself and the planet's atmosphere later.

"Hmm..." Maya looked at him for a moment too long, but said nothing to rebuke him even though it seemed obvious to her that he was lying. "Very well. Then I suppose you're well enough for a proper bath." She turned to her subordinates. "Angela, Vanessa, make him presentable."

"Okay!" The two ecstatically replied as they caught Ichika's arms with their own.

"Right this way, Ichika-san." said Angela as she half dragged Ichika out of the bed.

"It'll be over faster if you don't resist." Vanessa added as she did the same.

"Wait! I can do it myself." Ichika pleaded, but his appeals were ignored.

After a very thorough and invasive bath. Ichika was finally fully clothed and presentable. Maya had taken out his IS uniform for him, when he got out of the bath. It was odd. Why had his sister packed that of all things? But then again, it was probably one of the few clothes he owned that would fit. He rarely bought clothes after all.

Maya inspected Ichika from head to toe and had not found him wanting. If anything, she could somehow imagine why their young queen was interested the young man.

"Now that you're presentable, Ichika-sama. Lashara-sama has ordered me to show you around the ship."

"Alright! huh?... ship?"

_[- - -]_

Ichika was surprised to learn that what they called a ship was actually a floating island, but did his best to keep his amazement in check. Maya had first shown him the deck, which was an expensive mansion's yard except without a gate and walls for that matter. Next was the castle, which was partially closed off for repairs. No thanks to the explosion caused by the unmanned IS Tabane had made. Then the ship's engine room, although Maya had only permitted him a quick peek. Then was a trip to hanger, which had a pair of humanoid like things inside a translucent egg shaped shell.

Maya heard the silent question implied by Ichika's expression. "This is a Seikijin."

"Seikijin?"

Maya flash the young man a knowing smile before explaining the humanoid machine to him. She was about to go into the details of how one activates when they heard something large behind them.

They turned to find a purple giant with a long tail and long pink hair arrive. It had set its large rifle on the large rack on the wall before it knelt down and turned into an egg.

Ichika suspected that these Seikijin was a popular weapons platform on this world like the Infinite Stratos was in his.

They watched as a figure moved from inside the egg and was slowly pushed outside of the semi-clear shell. The figure was of a pink haired woman, who had been wearing a skin tight suit that was a little too tight and revealing for Ichika.

"Hello there, Maya." she said as she approached them.

Ichika quietly watched as the Maya bowed slightly. "Mexiah-sama, may I inquire about your business here?"

"I rushed here when I heard about the attack. How's Lashara-chan?"

"Her Highness is unharmed. Thanks to this young man." Maya gestured towards Ichika.

"Oh?" The woman turned her attention to Ichika. "And you are?"

"Ichika, Orimura Ichika." He somehow managed to say without stuttering, although he couldn't do anything about how hot his ears felt.

"Ichika, huh?" She looked at him with an unreadable look in her eyes. " That's an unusual name." Then she smiled, pulled him into her embrace and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for saving my cute little student."

Before Ichika could respond in anyway, Lashara and two young women walked in to the hanger. One of them was the red haired that Ichika saw when he woke up. And the other had purple hair pined into twin tails and wore a yellow jumpsuit.

"Nee-san!" The red haired yelled out with indignation.

"Hmm?" the woman that Maya had addressed as Mexiah, turned towards the voice and released Ichika. She then rushed towards them or more specifically to the young queen. "Lashara-chan!" She called out happily as he hugged the girl.

Lashara didn't complain, even though Mexiah had buried her face into her chest. "You have become so big in the time I haven't seen you."

"Nee-san! Lashara-sama is now the Queen of Shitorieyu!" The red haired exclaimed at the Mexiah's behavior toward the young royalty.

But the pink haired woman ignored her. She let go of the girl and knelt down for moment to meet the young queen's eyes. "I'm sorry for not being able to attend your coronation ceremony."

"Geez, what have you come here for?" complained the red head.

"Are those words you should be saying to you sister who rushed here the minute she heard of the attack?" said Mexiah as she pinched the cheeks of the red head.

"It hurts! It hurts!" the red head pushed the older woman way to get her to stop. "Aren't the instructors of the Holy Land Academy prohibited from interfering with state Affairs?"

"It's alright if it's to assure the safety of my cute students."

Ichika quietly watch the lively exchange, making mental notes of things he might want to ask Lashara later.

"Anyway!" Lashara spoke out to stop the two from arguing. "Since he's here, I'd like to introduce you." She then gestured for Ichika to come over.

"This is Orimura Ichika. He protected me from an explosion the night before." Ichika bowed his head lightly at the sisters.

"Ichika," Lashara gestured to the older sister. "This is Mexiah Furan. She's an Instructor at Holy Land Academy."

As everyone expected, Mexiah was quick to throw herself at the young man. "It's nice to formally meet you, Ichika-kun." she said before planting another kiss, this time on his other cheek.

Lashara then gestured to the younger sister. "You've met Chiaia Furan, my personal bodyguard."

"Nice to meet you." said Chiaia with a dull voice, clearly making her words mean the opposite.

"And this..." Lashara turned to the purple haired. "Is Wahanly Shume."

"Hello!" Wahanly waved her hand as she flashed him a guilty smile.

Lashara crossed her arms, then closed her distance between them. "So, Ichika. Have you made your decision?"

Ichika looked at her for a moment. Then glanced at Mexiah for a moment, who looked at him curious as to what Lashara meant. He then at looked at Chiaia, who looked very curious and a rather crossed. And then peek over to Maya, who was respectfully pretending that no one could see her, before returning his eyes on Lashara.

If he could be honest, he felt pressed for an answer. But fortunately, he had already made his decision.

"I accept your offer, Lashara-sama" he stated.

Lashara beamed and nodded, very pleased at his response.

_[- - -]_

On an unmarked ship that had been tailing the Swan, while avoiding detection.

A masked man in dark clothing came into a dark room and saluted his superior. "All three Seikijin have been fully repaired and our reinforcements have arrived."

His superior, a man in a more elegant mask, nodded. "Prepare them for takeoff as soon as possible. Inform all the pilots that we launch at sun down!"

**[... to be continued.]**

**Author's Note**: I'm sure some people would complain that Ichika is different. Yes, he is. This is a crossover after all. I'll get to clearing developing his character later. By the way... is it just me or does this chapter kind of reads like a visual novel?


	3. 002 Mismatched

**The Story of the White Knight from Another World.**

_(a Infinite Stratos x Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari crossover)_

**[Chapter Two - Mismatched]**

After their introductions, Lashara had "explained" to those present, that she had asked Ichika to work for her. After all if it hadn't for Ichika, who was keeping her company with his stories on the balcony the night of the attack, she probably wouldn't be standing here.

"I see... can you tell us what happened?" Mexaih asked.

"He pushed me out of the way and protected me." Lashara further elaborated that they were watching the fight when one of Wahanly's Gunpowder Bullets was deflected by one of the Assassins and nearly killed them both. But thanks to Ichika's actions, she only lost consciousness from the force of the explosion.

Mexiah had asked where Ichika had come from and how he had come to board the Swan. To Ichika's surprise, Chiaia was the one to speak. She stated that she first saw him back in the sky-port of Yuran, she thought that he was acting strange near the ship. So she had arrested him in suspicion of conspiracy at first, but things were soon cleared up and he was taken aboard on Lashara's whim.

Ichika noticed that, Lashara nodded looking quite pleased at herself. He was quick to understand what had just happened. Chiaia had been "asked" to tell people this cover story. He understood the need to lie and keep his true place of origin a secret. But it wasn't something he was accustomed to and had decided to trust Lashara's methods and played along with what she had planned.

"I see." Mexiah didn't look completely convinced. She flashed Ichika a suspicious look before changing the subject. It seemed like that she knew that she wouldn't get the truth out today and definitely not while Lashara was around. "It seems like your luck is still going strong, Lashara-chan."

"You got that right!" Lashara laughed proudly, as if it were the highest praise one could give her.

Wahanly approached Ichika and grabbed his hands. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that! My inventions are relatively untested. We're you hurt?" she asked as she looked at him like a very apologetic puppy.

"I uh..." remembering that he had to play along, "I'm fine. My wounds have already healed."

"EH? So fast!" Wahanly looked extremely surprised. "Are you a Seikishi? You've received the goddess' blessing? I'm so envious!"

"Uh... I..." Ichika stuttered not really sure what any of those words meant.

"You're wrong, Wan. Ichika has recently arrived from Kouchi." Lashara interjected.

That little tidbit caught everyone's attention.

"It seems that his family had exiled him to keep him alive." She added, effectively changing the subject.

"Is that true?" Wahanly asked, with tears staring to form in her eyes.

Lashara's half lie reminded Ichika that his own sister had a part in his being sent here. He sighed as he nodded, suddenly feeling depressed.

"You poor dear." Mexiah, pulled his head into her ample bosom. "There there... Things will get better. You just have to keep going."

Ichika gave her a small nod, hoping that would convince her to release him without looking like a pervert.

"Besides we can be your new family. You can call me 'nee-chan', Ichika-kun." she said extra sweetly.

"Nee-san! Stop that!" Chiaia futilely ordered.

"I'm just cheering him up a little." Mexiah pouted at her sister, but didn't let go of Ichika.

"That much is over doing it!" Ichika agreed with Chiaia. It was too sexually suggestive for "cheering up". That and the lack of air made the experience uncomfortable.

Mexiah eventually released Ichika's head and proceeded to embarrass her younger sister with some inside stories that only they could relate to.

_[- - -]_

Chiaia had pulled Lashara and the others away, telling him that they had important business to take care of. So she had "asked" Ichika to stay in his room until someone came for him. He understood that they were busy and decided to keep out of trouble. It also would give him the chance to sort out some things and check on his stuff.

He didn't tarry his return and was glad that he didn't get lost. The last thing he wanted was to get Chiaia any more resentful towards him.

Ichika opened the room cabinet and inventoried his possessions. A few changes of clothes, although, other than his IS Academy uniform, most of them would seem out of place in this world. A tablet computer, definitely out of place. Some printed photos. Survival Tools and Rations. And then there was Koyuki, the Katana his sister had given him when he started Kendo.

He unsheathed the sword and stared at its beautiful blade pattern. Ichika found it very nostalgic to have the very first sword he ever held (even before his first practice sword) in his hands again. Years ago Chifuyu-nee had purposely had him try to swing the sword when it was still too heavy for him. She taught him that swordsmanship was not being swung by your sword and that taking a life was heavy. Satisfied with his small trip down memory lane, he sheath the sword before anyone came in and think he'd start killing people. He returned the sword into its personalized katana bag and stored it in the cabinet.

He then passed the time scanning some of the more interesting looking books in the room's surprisingly full bookshelf and filing them into Byakushiki's database. He was surprised at how similar their printing technology was to earth's. But he found it odd. To him these stories felt like something recent novelists from his world would write, however, Byakushiki's sensors have carbon dated some of these books to be at least a hundred years old. Was the flow of time on this planet different on Earth's? If so... he probably really can't go back. For all he knew it's already the year 2050 on earth.

After he finished scanning the last book of interest he cleaned up and threw himself onto the couch. Then he closed his eyes and hoped that he wouldn't cry in his sleep.

_[- - -]_

"You're finally here, Ichika! You know, it's not good to make lady wait." Lashara tease him as she watched him enter from her seat.

Ichika smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry I'm late. I fell asleep." Angela roused him from his long nap earlier, telling him that it was about time for dinner and that Lashara was expecting him to join her.

Lashara laughed. "I know! You look cute when you're a sleep."

"You dropped by?" Ichika walked over to the table and sat down. "You should have woken me."

"You looked so peaceful, I didn't feel like it. And it wasn't something urgent."

"I see." Ichika was relieved that she wasn't a spoiled selfish. "But what did you visit me for?"

"I wanted to talk and get the story we'll tell people later clear for both of us." Lashara leaned back on her chair. "The most that I can order my servants to do is pretend that you boarded the Swan at the last port. I somehow managed to trick everyone into believing that story about an accident with Wahanly's new weapon. Although, Chiaia is suspicious of you. She thinks you're one of the assassins, but switched sides for some reason or another."

"So that's why she looks like she's ready to cut my head off."

Lashara laughed heartily at his comment. "Well... she's just looking out for me. So don't think badly of her."

"I understand." Ichika nodded.

Ichika heard the door open. He watched as the three servants he's become acquainted to came in with a dinner cart full of cloche covered plates.

"Lashara-sama, why did Wahanly-san think I was a Seikishi when I told her that my wounds have healed already?" Ichika asked to change their topic.

"Hmm... You see, there is a ritual called "Baptism" that is performed on those deemed worthy. It grants a person the power to use Ahou to heal their own wounds and repair their Seikijin."

"So that's why. But why did she look so surprised?"

Vanessa and Angela were quick to serve the plates onto the table. Maya poured some water and mixed fruit juice for both of them.

"Because most Seikishi are females. Males who can tolerate exposure to Ahou are very rare."

"I see."

Lashara noted the conflicted look on his face.

"Maya, Vanessa, Angela, Good Work. You may leave."

The three respectfully bowed and left the room.

"Is something on your mind, Ichika?"

"Hmm? Oh... It's just that..." Ichika raised his right wrist to show her Byakushiki's closed form. "This is something only women can use."

"Really?" Lashara's interest had peaked. "But how come you can use it?"

Ichika nodded. "We don't really know. I had activated one by accident. And to learn why I could use it, my country's government decided to give me my personal unit."

"Hmm." Lashara found the coincidence very intriguing.

"Lashara-sama?"

"Ichika, would you like to try- piloting a Seikijin?" she asked half heartedly.

"Not really." Lashara laughed at Ichika's blunt and quick response.

She wiped a tear from her eye and asked, "Why not?"

"I didn't really want to pilot an IS." Ichika looked at the white metal bracer. "If I had known that it would activate if I touched it back then, I probably would have stayed away."

"I see." Lashara took a sip of water. "I suppose it would complicate things if you became a Seikishi."

For the rest of dinner, the two of them amused each other with childhood stories. It had been a good starting point in Ichika's transition to this world. Lashara would tell a story, Ichika would ask questions when something about their world came up and Lashara would fill him in. In the same way, Lashara was getting to know Ichika as he would sometimes compare things from this world with his original world.

"So I probably shouldn't let anyone see me use my IS." Ichika commented when it was told that their Dynamic Armor wasn't close to being as advanced.

"Not necessarily. If you really need to use it. We'll just tell people that it was something a genius hermit inventor from Kouchi had made to work only for you." Lashara suggested. "We could even add that it is powered by alternate energy sources and Ahou. That should even make your supposed exile from Kouchi believable."

Ichika nodded in agreement, although he found it a bit amusing that she had unknowingly mixed some truth in it. "Alright. I'll do that. But it seems troublesome for now. So I'll try to use it only in secret. Or if Lashara-sama is in danger."

"As you should!" Lashara blushed at the last statement and rushed to drink her juice to avert her face from Ichika's view. For a moment, she wondered if Ichika had been flirting with her. She was a little disappointed, yet also relieved, that he simply returned to his meal and started another topic.

_[- - -]_

Chiaia ate her dinner in silence. Although it was obvious from the way her knife and fork soundly scratched the plate, the way she loudly put down her glass, how she broke the breadsticks like they were bones, and the way she attacked her salad like it was meat, that she was in a bad mood.

Mexiah, who was not the type to hold back around her sister, regardless of her sister's feelings, decided to ask about it. "So... What's got you in such a foul mood?"

"Nothing." Chiaia stated then continued ravaging her meal.

"That Ichika is good looking isn't he?" Mexiah watched as her sister's hands stopped for a moment. Bullseye!

Chiaia said nothing and drank her water.

"Think Lashara's fallen for him?"

Water shot from Chiaia's mouth like a fountain.

Mexiah just watched her sister with a sense of mischievous accomplishment.

"Why would- cough- you- cough- think that?"

"Well..." Mexiah cupped her own face. "If a good looking man like that risked his life to save me; I'm sure I'd start falling in love with him." she said, trying to sound like a squealing teenage girl.

Chiaia just sighed and hoped her sister wasn't right. It was bad enough that they were leaving their young queen alone in his company.

"Or maybe..." Mexiah dramatically paused, as if to reveal some conspiracy that Chiaia was looking for.

"Hmmm?" Chiaia tried not to sound interested.

"You've fallen for him?" Mexiah teased.

Chiaia slammed her fists on the table as she stood. "I HAVE NOT!" she yelled as loud as she could, that it scared the clan of Koros that have made the Swan their home. Or so it seemed for a moment. But when the Koros' screeching didn't stop, they realized that the assassins were back!

_[- - -]_

"What is that?" Ichika inquired about the noise.

"It's the Koro Alarm." Lashara crossed her arms. "It's probably the assassins from last time. With the Swan nearing the Holy Land, tonight is probably their last chance to kill me."

"Assassins...How can you be so calm about it?" Ichika asked, trying to remain calm by clenching his fist.

"Hmmmmm." Lashara picked up her glass and swirled the liquid inside. "I'm not. I'm just pretending to be."

"Eh? What do you mean?" her confession surprised him.

"I'm Shitoreiyu's Queen after all. I have to look strong for my people." she added before she sipped her juice.

Ichika for the most part was impressed. He had himself had been a target for kidnapping once, but the martial arts his sister had taught him allowed him to save himself. Yet for a while after the incident he became jumpy and paranoid. The stress had even made him easily agitated and that he almost started fights. It took an increase in his physical training regimen to bring back his confidence and calm. And yet compared to the young queen in front of him, who looked like she never lifted anything heavier than a tea cup, the accomplishment seemed trivial.

"Why are you smiling?" Lashara's voice broke his train of though.

"Hm?" Ichika touched his face and realized she was right. "I was just impressed."

"Impressed? by what?"

"By you."

Lashara's felt warm, although she wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or outraged.

But ultimately she decided to let it go. "We should be able to get a good view of the battle from here." said the young queen as she stood and walked over to the window. "This might be a good chance for you to understand this wor-"

Before the young queen could finish her statement the doors opened violently as Angela rushed into the room. "Lashara-sama, Six unknown Seikijins are headed this way!"

_[- - -]_

Chiaia had positioned her Seikijin on the Swan's deck. Already she could tell that this would be a difficult fight. Her unit was still not fully repaired, she didn't trust Wahanly's weapon (or her skill), and Mexiah-nee will surely act on her own (on the grounds that she's a teacher and must protect her students). Still there probably was a chance of victory. They were getting close to the Holy Land. This meant a good chance a battle might be noticed by the Junrei Guard, the Holy Land independent self defense force. And while Lashara-sama had given instructions not to contact them for aid, it would be a different story if they came to help on their own.

A magic transmitter circle appeared on her cockpit that opened a communication link between her and Wahanly. "This is worse than last time, we're out numbered two to one. What should we do?"

"Whatever we have to do to win."

Wahanly let out a disappointed sigh. "It's that desperate huh?"

"Just shut it! They're coming!"

Magic bullets hit the Swan's forward Reactor, which slowed the ship and and stopped it's attempt to ascend. It seemed that their enemies wanted to make sure that the deed is done this time and they'll probably sink the Swan if it would buy them more time. Chiaia aimed her Seikijin's fist at the enemy and returned fire with Magic bullets for her own.

Mexiah took her unit to the sky and aimed at the Seikijin that seemed to be the leader. It was an unusually shaped night blue unit that had golden horns sprouting from its shoulder. She fired her magic rifle and hit her target squarely on the head. She was surprised and disappointed that was far less effective than it should have been. But now she understood how these assassins managed fight someone of Chiaia's caliber and escape. Their units have been tampered with somehow, most likely to increase the defense and probably the offensive capabilities.

Since it was too late to change weapons now, she decided that a change in her strategy was needed. Instead of weakening the whole unit, she aimed at only the arms. If they can't hold their weapons, they can't fight; and if they can't fight, they'll have to retreat.

Wahanly, on the other hand had learned, from the previous battle, that her experimental explosive weapon was very effective against a Seikijin. The problem was the limited amount of ammunition she could carry. She had offered a spare weapon to Chiaia and Mexiah-sensei, but they had politely refused with the belief that variety might play more into their favor. Of course Wahanly knew that they were actually afraid it might explode in their hands... and she couldn't blame them for thinking so.

She noted that it's accuracy was great to a certain range, but unlike a variable magic bullet her explosive shells worked in a predictable way. As she's now come to realize, when the enemy Seikijin she had damaged from the previous battle were now dodging her shots with little effort. She'll have to get creative to get through this one.

The blue Seikijin had flown passed Mexiah and rushed to fight Chiaia on the Swan's deck.

Chiaia silently cursed as her enemy slowly pushed her back. So she pressed harder. She summoned all the strength her unit could muster and swung her sword. But then, she felt something familiar from the blue Seikijin when it blocked her attack with its shield.

Seeing Chiaia's difficulty, Mexiah aimed for the blue Seikijin. But her attempt to save her sister was interrupted, when a deep pink Seikijin tried to hack her unit's head off with an axe. She managed to dodge, only to realize she that they wanted her to move away.

_[- - -]_

Back inside the castle all lights were turned off. It was a small precaution to make it harder for their enemies to spot Lashara from the outside. As well as to make infiltrating the castle on foot a more difficult task should the enemy get desperate.

Ichika and Lashara watched the battle unfold. After Angela had informed them of the number of enemies, Maya had dropped by to request that they call the Junrei guard for assistance. Lashara considered it for a moment, but denied it. Saying that she'd hate to rely on Aura. The elderly maid reluctantly accepted her decision and were dismissed by Lashara. They pleaded that she not be alone at such a time, but Lashara insisted. Telling them that Ichika was there to protect her.

Ichika watched the battle with great interest. Although he kept reminding himself that this was a real combat; someone could die out there.

"This is bad..." Lashara muttered.

"What do you mean?" To Ichika, the battle seemed to be going well. Mexiah's unit hasn't been damaged yet. Wahanly's somehow managed to keep two enemies at bay. And Chiaia is locked with the one that seemed to be the leader. For an uneven match, it still looked like things would go in their favor.

Lashara pointed at Chiaia's unit. "Can you see gray area at her unit's left knee?"

Ichika looked closely and noticed that the grey area were actually starting to spread. "Yeah..?"

"That leg will break soon." Lashara voice sounded grim.

"Really?" Ichika looked at Lashara, hoping that she was just trying to make him nervous. But it was obvious from her expression that she wasn't making it up.

Ichika turned to see the blue unit swing its sword forcing Chiaia's unit to fall to its knee. He mentally berated himself. He realized that he was hoping that they would turn this mismatched fight around. It seems that he had taken Lashara's warning, with regads to his identity, too deeply to heart. To think that he had unknowingly intended to wait for one of Lashara's friends to fall before he'd act.

He felt like an idiot. Helping people shouldn't be hard decision to make.

"Lashara." he called her with resolve in his voice.

"Hmm?" The young queen looked at him, slightly surprise by the different air of his voice.

"I'm going." he said as he stared straight into her eyes.

For a moment, Lashara thought that he was leaving. But quickly tossed those notion aside. His eyes told her that he was going to fight. She was not sure how powerful his "IS" was in his world. But at this point it seemed like she'll have to put her trust on it and Ichika.

"I got it. I'm counting on you." Lashara said with confident smile.

Ichika nodded then rushed to his room to change into his IS suit.

_[- - -]_

Ichika peaked outside through his balcony door. Satisfied that it was out sight to the Seikijins he jumped off the ship. He timed the his fall and summoned Byakushiki just as he was about to hit the trees. With the PIC active he quietly floated down into the foliage for cover.

To his surprise Byakushiki alerted him about the unlocked and updated features. One in particular caught his attention. The Optical Camouflage. It was a feature that was sealed from all cores after the "White Knight Incident". It's power consumption would be a problem if used continuously. But if he only used it to hide as after he attacked, he might be able to return to Lashara's side without anyone finding out.

With a plan formed, he activated the hyper sensors and chose his target. Summoned Yukihira. And waited for the right moment.

_[- - -]_

Chiaia ground her teeth in frustration. She was beginning to reach her operational limit. But before that happened, her enemy's sword might actually reach her. It seemed that her bet on lasting long enough for the Junrei Guard to notice was not going to pay off.

"What's wrong? Your getting slower." Taunted the pilot of the blue Seikijin.

Chiaia held her tongue and tried not to remain calm. There had to be a way to win. She just had to remain calm and think.

But nothing came to mind.

"Damn it!" She yelled at herself. "How could I have let myself be cornered this far."

The blue Seikijin swung it's sword again. However this time, her she felt as if her arm had broken.

She screamed.

The damage on the Seikijin was fed back as pain to the pilot. It was one of the few drawback of such an advanced weapon. And unfortunately for her it was a costly one.

"This is the end for you!"

Chiaia watched, unable to move from the pain feedback, as the blue Seikijin raised its sword with both hands.

But to her disbelief something faster than any magic bullet burst from the trees below and passed the enemy Seikijin's hands. And without stopping it gained more and more altitude, until it passed the draft of Ena then disappeared.

There was a heavy thud and a familiar clang. To Chiaia's and the enemy's surprise, the blue Seikijin had lost both arms from the elbow down.

Chiaia threw the questions in her mind aside. She picked up her weapon with her remaining arm and swung her it at the blue Seikijin's head as hard as she could.

The blue Seikijin inelegantly blocked the sword with the remainder of its arms. But the force of Chiaia's attack was enough to push throw her enemy off the Swan.

_[- - -]_

In the sky, hidden from view by the Optical Camouflage, Ichika positioned himself for a dive. He watched as Chiaia had pushed off the blue Seikijin, with a sense of accomplishment. He then noticed that one of the three Seikijins that were had been keeping Mexiah at bay, broke off to catch their leader and began to retreat.

Mexiah seemed to be the one that was doing the best out of the three. So when her attackers were down by one, Ichika figured Wahanly was the one who needed some support.

He looked at her enemies and had the hyper sensors lock on the grey area on their Seikijins. He selected the weapon arm of the first Seikijin as his target. Imagined the flight path. Disabled the Optical Camouflage. And dived at full speed.

Through sheer dumb luck, the second Seikijin had aligned itself to his flight path and ended up like the first. He was quick to reactivate the Optical Camouflage and make a full stop before he hit the trees.

_[- - -]_

"You're wide open!" Wahanly fired her explosive shells at the enemy, while they were stunned by the lost one of their arms, and heavily damaged their other arm. She quickly reloaded for a third shot, but the two had already begun to retreat and was out of range.

So she turned her attention to Mexiah, only to see that her targets too were damaged and were in retreat.

Wahanly opened a communication like to the two. "Did anyone see what that was?"

"No. It was too fast for me to get a good look." replied Chiaia. "What about you, Mexiah-nee?"

"Unfortunately, I was too busy." was a sheepish response of their teacher.

Wahanly sighed, disappointed. "Well we seem to be ok. So I guess it's an ally."

Chiaia didn't seem too happy about the assumption, but said nothing.

"For now... it seems that the worst is over." Mexiah set down her Seikijin on the deck and pointed at a distance.

Wahanly and Chiaia turned and immediately recognized the glowing green wings of a incoming an green Seikijin.

"Princess Aura?"

_[- - -]_

Ichika had returned to his room and quickly changed back into his IS Academy uniform. He fixed his hair, which had been ruffled by the win, then quietly returned to the dining room where he left Lashara.

"I'm back." He said as he carefully walked in the still unlit room.

Lashara turned to him with an excited look on her face. "Ichika, that was incredible! No! It was better than incredible... it was unbelievable!"

"Really?" Ichika shyly scratched his cheek with finger.

"Yup! Although it happened so fast that I couldn't really see what you actually did exactly." said Lashara looked at Ichika her eyes lit with curiosity. "Were you always that good?"

"I can't really compare. I always used to fight face to face." Ichika leaned on the wall by the window and watched as Chiaia and the others landed on the deck. Then he raised his right wrist. "And although Tabane-san said that she removed the limiters, I targeted the weakened portions of their units, so I'm not sure how well I'll do against one in a fair fight."

"Well don't let it trouble you for now. At least we know, that there is a way for you to fight a Seikijin if you have to." Lashara said as she fanned away Ichika's uncertain air. "You saved my subordinates and my friends, Ichika. And more importantly, you saved me again." To Ichika's surprise and embarrassment, Lashara bowed her head. "Thank you."

"Lashara!" Ichika blushed, embarrassed at the sudden formality, and whispered loudly to her. "A Queen isn't supposed to bow down to anyone."

"What are you saying!" Lashara said as she flashed him a sly smile. "A Queen bows, to Her King or to Her Hero."

"I... uh..." Ichika tried to think of something to say. His medieval per

Lashara stare and smile lasted for a few moments before she laughed.

Ichika realized that she was teasing him now and eventually relaxed. "By the way, did anyone come by while I was gone?" he asked.

"Maya dropped by for a moment." she wiped the tears, that had almost formed in her eyes from laughing, with her finger. "I told her you went to relieve yourself."

Ichika nodded, it was probably an acceptable excuse. Although he probably should expect to hear a lecture from her later. Especially since Maya had only left Lashara, because he promised to stay with her.

"What did Maya-san drop by for?"

"She told me that they'll restore the lights once the enemy retreat is confirmed and that Aura had called to inform us she's coming aboard and is requesting an audience."

"Aura?"

"Aura Shurifon, the Princess of the Kingdom of Shurifon."

"Oh... Why is another kingdom's princess coming here?" And at such a time.

"Assuming no one disobeyed my orders... She probably came to investigate and assist if needed. We were probably close enough for the battle to be detected by their magic sensors." Lashara crossed her arms."It's a bit troublesome, but I guess I have to meet her now that she's come all the way here."

The all lights flickered on once again, which caused the two of them to wince at the brightness as they waited for their eyes to readjust.

"Now that the lights are back. Ichika, come with me. Let's greet our guest."

"Eh? me too?"

"What are you talking about?" Lashara flashed him that sly smile again. "You have to keep guarding me until I dismiss you or someone relieves you."

Ichika followed albeit a bit reluctantly. Though secretly smiled at what he's come to realize was his good fortune. Being sent to this would could have meant a meeting with just about anyone or anything. In his heart he thanked whatever deity sent him so close to Lashara.

_[- - -]_

To Ichika's fortune, and Lashara's disappointment, Maya had come to meet them part way to their destination and had insisted that he not be present to prevent any rumors. Lashara tried to dismiss the issue saying that she didn't care. But after indulging so many of her requests regarding Ichika, Maya was not willing to let this one go. Eventually Lashara relented and released Ichika from his "duty" as her guard tonight, bidding him goodnight.

Ichika decided to go back to his room. He wasn't tired, thanks to his untimely nap, but he figured he shouldn't wander around the ship while there was a guest on board.

_[- - -]_

Mexiah was in from of her Seikijin using a maintenance console to access the battle data from its memory. She had isolated the moments that their mysterious savior lent them a hand. But no matter how slow she played the recording, not only was she too far from the target to see it, it was moving so fast that it looked like nothing more than a blur of white. Wahanly's Seikijin had a closer resolution, but it was still too far and too fast.

But when she had checked Chiaia's Seikijin, who was the first and the closest it passed by, Mexiah saw something. The recording revealed the same white blur, but then she a blue arc like shine as it passed by the arms of the blue Seikijin her sister was fighting. She played the recording one more time and realized that the arc had been a weapon. Another replay and it was clear that it wasn't just a weapon it was a very swift and efficient slash.

She copied the battle data, and erased any trace of her accessing it, before heading up to talk with her students.

On the way, she passed by Ichika and decided that a small delay wouldn't hurt.

"Ichika-kun!" she called, waving her hand as she walked up to him.

Ichika raised his hand in response. "Mexiah-san, I'm glad that you're all safe."

"Thank you."

For a moment, Mexiah just stared at him. She knew that he and Lashara were hiding something.

"Mexiah-san? Ack!-"

Mexiah placed her arm around Ichika's neck and pulled him so that their cheeks were touching.

"Ichika-kun, I told you that you can call me 'nee-chan'." she whispered erotically.

"Um... I... err..." Ichika looked perplexed. That was a new reaction, she thought. Most seemed to liked having her attention. Well they were girls... did her charm only work on women? Now that would be a bit sad.

As she watch Ichika find his voice, her thoughts contemplated about him. It was definitely suspicious for an unknown man to just suddenly be the Queen's favorite. Especially one that was thought to have been suspicious at first. But if that white blur that saved them had something to do with him. Then she probably owed him enough to not pry into his and Lashara's business... at least for now.

Mexiah smiled at him and playfully tapped his shoulders. "Well, I won't force you. But the offer is always on the table, okay?"

"O-okay." Ichika nodded and looked rather relieved.

"Well, I should go report in." She said. But then winked at him and playfully added, "Wouldn't want Chiaia-san to get mad again."

Ichika just smiled, not exactly sure how to respond to that either.

"Goodnight, Ichika-kun." Mexiah blew him a kiss as she walked away.

"Goodnight." Ichika return her gesture with a wave before he turn around and went the opposite direction.

_[- - -]_

On board the unmarked ship. The masked leader strode straight to his quarters and locked the door behind him. They had ran out of time. The Swan will arrive in the Holy Land in the morning and Queen Lashara would be well protected in the Academy.

He had ordered the ship to retreat to it's safe harbor. They needed to have the Seikijins repaired and returned before their "owners" even knew they were missing.

He took off his mask revealing his noble blonde hair. He poured himself a glass of wine only to throw the bottle in frustration upon realizing it was empty.

What went wrong? They were so close to succeeding! They had them out numbered! Their Seikijins were temporarily reinforced. Mexiah had been blocked, Wahanly's new weapon rendered void and the Queen's Bodyguard at his mercy.

So how could they have lost?

"DAMN IT!" He cursed as she slammed his fists onto the table.

Father wouldn't complain about his failure. He never did. But this will certainly lower his expectations of him even more. And that wasn't good. Dagmyer Mest wanted to prove to the world that male Seikishi are just as good as the more common female Seikishi. He had to prove that and take the freedom he once had and become Shitoreiyu's future king.

Lashara was supposed to have been the first stepping stone. But reality has proven to be more formidable than he thought. So for now, he'll have to bare with being treated like a delicate object for a little while longer... until his next plan comes into fruition.

**[... to be continued.]**

**Author's Note**: I had originally planned to have chapter one and two as one chapter, but it seemed to make more sense to have them separate. The number of people who read this fic were a lot higher than I expected. Seeing as there were only two fanfics (including crossovers) under Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari before I started this story. I wished for more, but I'm surprised it got that much attention on its first few days.


	4. 003 Holy Land Academy

**The Story of the White Knight from Another World.**

_(a Infinite Stratos x Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari crossover)_

**[Chapter Three - Holy Land Academy]**

Wahanly had woken up early to get a head start on her packing. She had to transfer her Seikijin onto her ship before the Swan docked into the Holy Land. This was because the Swan would be entering through a special gate that was above the Sea of Ena. At that altitude the use of Ahou based energy is impossible, rendering Seikijins inoperable. Not that she was expecting to use hers anytime soon. Actually, she had to send it to the church soon for repairs a long with Chiaia's.

As she was about to enter the hanger when she heard an unfamiliar sound in the air. She peaked in, careful not to disturb the sound's source, and there she saw in the middle of the spacious hanger was their new acquaintance, Orimura Ichika. He sat on his legs with his back straight and his eyes closed in concentration. His hands were on his lap one moment, then in one swift motion were on his sword and scabbard then slashed as he breathe out.

A distinctively unique click resounded in air, followed by whiz unlike anything she's heard before. It sounded dangerous. If she were to guess, that slash would have been more than enough to cut off her legs. But a closer look, to Wahanly's surprise, he was standing by the time the slash was complete. So instead it seemed that it would have been her head that she'd have lost, which made her cringe for a second.

She watched as he kept the pose for a moment, then in a swift succession slashed the blade downwards, as if to shake off the imaginary blood, and elegantly sheathed it back into it's scabbard. Then with the same grace, went back to his starting position and sat back down.

It was like watching a dance.

So without much thought, Wahanly applauded.

Ichika finally noticed her and smiled sheepishly. "Good Morning, Wahanly-san."

"Good Morning!" she returned the gesture. "Ichika, what are you doing?"

"Practicing Iaido."

"Iaido?" Wahanly asked, unfamiliar with the term.

For a moment Ichika panicked. Lashara mentioned that Wahanly was also formerly from Kouchi, the place where he was supposed to be from according to the rouse. And already it seemed like he screwed up already.

"Could it be a technique from another world?" Wahanly's eyes brightened up.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Wow! Did you learn it from an off-worlder master?"

"Well... I learned it from my sister." he answered honestly, thinking he had been caught already.

"Amazing! Ancestor from another world! How envious!" Wahanly exclaimed excitedly. It was rare that sword techniques from the other world to be taught to people of this world. It was even rarer to find someone of such a lineage... especially one from Kouchi.

Ichika, on the other hand, was just relieved that Wahanly's imagination allowed her to lie for him. While there was a part of him that said he wouldn't mind if people knew, the better part of his sense told him that it would be IS Academy all over again. And while he adapted to that life style quickly enough, he would have preferred not going through it.

"And your sword, it's a katana right?"

Ichika nodded.

"May I hold it?"

Ichika saw no harm and carefully handed her the sword.

"Wow! A real sword is heavier than I thought. But when you take it out of the sheath it looks even smaller than the sword Chiaia carries." Wahanly inspected the sword thoroughly. Her eyes would bulge whenever some small detail caught her interest. She noted to herself that this was probably the most beautiful katana replica she's ever seen. It was so well made one might mistake it for... no it couldn't be.

"Thank you!" she said as she returned the sword.

"It's nothing." Ichika moved over to a nearby table and picked up a towel. "What are you doing up so early, Wahanly-san?"

"Ichika, please call me "Wan"?" she asked as she looked at him sweetly.

"O-okay... Wan."

Wahanly smiled. "I was just about to pack up the rest of my things and move my Seikijin before breakfast."

"Then I should get out of the way." Ichika stood and gathered his things.

"You don't have to."

"No, it's just that..." Ichika realized he didn't really have any reason to go. But still thought that the farther he was from one of those things while someone is around, the better.

And as luck would have it.

"Ichika-san!" Angela called from the hallway as she beckoned him closer.

Nice timing Angela-san! "I'll be right there!" He told the her before turning to Wahanly one more time. "I got to go. I'll be seeing you, Wan."

"See you!" Wahanly watched as Ichika followed Angela out of the Hangar. When they were no longer in sight. She stretched her muscles a little then got started with her packing. Although a part of her mind was still on Ichika's beautiful sword. Although it wasn't a machine, the complex method used to forge a Katana was something of interest.

_[- - -]_

Ichika had somehow managed to save himself from another "thorough cleaning" courtesy of Lashara's servants and bathed himself this time. Although Angela had insisted on helping with the brushing his hair afterwards and putting on the rest of his clothes.

"Ichika-san, please wear this as well." To his surprise, Angela held out his katana and a white cape to him with both hands.

"Why?" asked as he took the sword and slipped it into his uniform's coat belt.

"It was Lashara-sama's instructions."

"Lashara... sama's huh?" Ichika wondered why the young Queen would want him to wear his sword and a cape. But came up with nothing, although he did think he looked cooler with them. So maybe it was to show off? He didn't know just how right he was.

_[- - -]_

Ichika went up to the deck to meet up with Lashara. Upon exiting the ship's interior he was surprised to see smaller vessels of different designs floating past the swan from both directions. And directly in ahead looked like a mountain city fortress with a gate of white stone. Part of it felt ancient to Ichika, yet at the same time it had a beauty that one only found in fiction.

On deck he found Lashara, the Furan sisters and a dark skin woman with sil- long ears? He was surprised. It seemed that humanity didn't just imagine elves. He watched from the entrance of the castle as the Seikijin transformed in to a green giant, when the dark skinned elf with silver hair entered it's shell, then flew to a nearby ship.

"Ichika!" Lashara beckoned him to come over. As he walked over, he took note of Lashara's clothing. Gone was the striking red dress she seemed to favored, replaced by what a robe that looked incredibly similar to a Christian nun's habit back on earth. Was this a coincidence? Or something that people before him have brought to this world.

"You look quite dashing like that!" she complimented his appearance with the addition of the sword and cape. Mexiah nodded in approval. While Chiaia just flashed him a wary look.

"Thank you." Ichika placed his left palm on the butt of the pommel and his right hand on the strap on his chest, that held the cape securely on his shoulders. "But why did you want me to wear these?"

Lashara lashed him a devious smile. "From now on, along with Chiaia, you'll be acting as my bodyguard."

"Eh?" Chiaia looked even more surprised than she sounded. "But Lashara-sama, he's not qualified or..."

Lashara turned to her with a devious smile silencing her completely. She's up to something again...

"Even as a bodyguard, he can wear a sword in within the Holy Land only for today. So I want him to wear it to increase his and, more importantly, my image." Lashara informed them of her plan.

"I see..." Ichika understood why she had him wear it. Sure it's nice to have a good image. "But-" Although it didn't answer the crucial question exactly. "...why?"

Mexiah decided to answer his question with her own hypothesis. "Lashara-chan was almost assassinated. So she has to at least make it look like she's taking precautions. She can't hire another Seikishi to serve as a personal guard. An unknown foreigner bodyguard, like you, might seem out of place and an unlikely choice, but you would be a more acceptable choice than if she were to put Wahanly in that position or another available Seikishi." She turned to Lashara. "Am I right?"

"Exactly!" Lashara said with a please yet restrained chuckle. "And then there's that damned "Permit" business..."

"Permit?" Ichika asked.

Lashara pointed at him. "Ichika! As the man who saved this new Queen's life, I cannot allow you to endure such a humiliation!"

Mexiah giggled as she realized the purpose of the cape. "I see! You want everyone to think that he's a knight like Chiaia to bypass the probation period."

"Probation Period?" Ichika asked.

Mexiah turned to Ichika, "In most upper class schools, for the protection of the students attending, newly arrived servants are required to wear a leather collar around their neck. It serves as a marker and a transmitter. It was an idea that is said to have been introduced by a visitor from another world."

Chiaia clicks her tongue to express her disapproval, but says nothing. She knew Lashara-sama had made up her mind. Asking Mexiah to stay with them until the Swan docked was just part of her scheme to get Mexiah on her side.

"I see..." Ichika twitched at the image of himself with a collar around his neck. Definitely not good.

_[- - -]_

As the Swan made port, it had ascended to the Enaline, the highest point in the air where the Sea of Ena fills the world. To Ichika crossing through that natural barrier was a surprising experience. Especially since other than surprise, he didn't really feel the air being different from the one bellow. It didn't feel lighter or heavier nor did it smell different. Although as the ship headed for the gate, there was now a transparent blue wake of light that moved similar to waves of water at the sides of the ship.

Seeing the question written in his face, Mexiah held onto his arm, pushing her breasts onto to him as she did. She explained to him the difference of the air that was separated by the barrier. Turns out that their choice energy source, Ahou, cannot be used above the Enaline. The Swan was currently still safe and running because it's second reactor was still inside the Sea of Ena. Mexiah mentioned that Ahou was a near infinite energy source, the only problem was that the human body cannot tolerate prolonged exposure to it. But it worked well enough as a ship's fuel.

"But then why are we up here?" Ichika asked.

Mexiah pointed at the Holy Land's entrance, a very tall white gate made out of concrete or a similar composite material. It gate was carved with some image that must have a symbolic meaning to the people of this world. It was so tall that it probably outreached IS Academy's highest point. Large pieces of the gate spread open as the Swan got near, allowing it's entry. "This is the Academy's Entrance."

Ichika quietly observed as the ship entered the gate that opened before them and made port. If he had to guess why a school was up here, he'd say that the school itself wasn't powered with Ahou or did so to protect the students from an attack with the use of a Seikijin.

"Hmph! We just arrived and already there is something unpleasant for our eyes." Lashara said with heavy annoyance.

Although to his surprise, Chiaia actually giggled with some enthusiasm. What could that mean?

Ichika followed Lashara's eyes to see a orange like... fish? No. A floating ship of orange. While it didn't look special, Ichika wondered why the sudden remark on this ship when they had passed several floating ships that looked even uglier. Was it the color? Was his sense of beauty different from those this world?

"It's the ship of Havonia's crowned princess, Maria Nanadan" Mexiah whispered. "She's Lashara-chan's cousin. And they have a rather complicated relationship. I'm sure you'll understand later."

Lashara's cousin, huh? If their relationship is as complicated as he think it is, he'll probably have to be extra careful from now on.

A smaller floating craft came out of the swan's hull, although, Ichika was sure that part of the hull used to be dirt and grass. He said nothing, but filed the question in his mind for later and boarded the small craft still with Mexiah still holding on to him.

Chiaia had controlled the craft and moved it to the pier.

"Well, this is where we part." Mexiah let go of Ichika and took over the controls of the smaller craft after the three had disembarked. "Lashara-chan, I'll be borrowing this." She then descended and disappeared somewhere without waiting for Lashara to respond.

"Let us be on our way." Lashara took the lead and walked toward the very high and very long set of stairs, that reminded Ichika of the Shinonono shrine back in Japan.

_[- - -]_

After the long walk up, Ichika was greeted with a magnificent view of the Academy's front grounds. The size of the lawn alone was enough to elicit a sense of awe from Ichika. For an Academy it felt unusually large, but when he added the variable for Royalty and Nobles it seemed appropriate.

Ichika was careful to keep his pace at Chiaia's left side, while she followed Lashara just a step and a half behind. He noticed that they have aroused the attention and interest of all the students in the area. From their distance he could just barely hear them.

"Isn't that the newly crowned Queen of Shitoreiyu?"

"Who is that young man with her?"

"A new knight, maybe?"

"Look at his sword. It's a Katana!"

"He looks cool! Is he a Seikishi?"

"Wow... as Expected of Shitoreiyu's queen. She's got good taste!"

"But isn't he rather young to be an Alumni?"

He tried not to react to anything they said. But their worlds certainly raised a lot of new questions in his mind.

Ichika instinctively stopped walking when the corner of his eye noticed that Chiaia had suddenly halted her advance. He glanced at her, then in front of them and saw that a young blond young man and a light brown haired young woman went down to one knee as Lashara approached them.

"I'd like to complement you on your conduct so far, Orimura Ichika." although Chiaia had not made it sound that she was complementing him. "Understand the moment you had walked with her highness, you had shown that you are a servant of Queen Lashara. Do not act in any way that might tarnish her name."

Ichika smiled. True to Lashara's words last night, Chiaia was only looking out for her. "I'll do my best."

Chiaia let out a dissatisfied hum and turned her attention forward again.

"Thank you for coming to greeting us on our arrival, Dagmyer Mest." Lashara started her pleasantries.

"I am honored, your highness." Dagmyer stood up. "I was worried when we had heard of an attack on the Swan. But, I am relieved to see that you are well." He said with a dignified smile.

"Indeed. You should inform Lord Babalun, that I am unharmed." Ichika noticed that Lashara's tone had slightly changed, "I'm sure the attack had worried him as well." to carry a hint of sarcasm.

But Dagmyer's smile remained unfazed by the subtle accusation. "I will do just that." His attention then shifted to Chiaia. "Chiaia, it must have been hard for you too. You've just been assigned your post and yet you've seen combat already."

"It's my duty." To Ichika's surprise, Chiaia had said that with held her hands together like a shy girl as she tried to avoid his gaze.

Dagmyer smiled at her, a more seemingly more genuine than the one he had given Lashara, and said, "Still, I am glad that you're safe."

Ichika just watched Chiaia as she blushed at Dagmyer's words.

Dagmyer's eyes then fell onto Ichika. Ichika noticed the glance and turned his attention to him and bowed. There was something about him that he didn't like. It reminded him of how Cecilia used to treat him before their duel. But something told him the same wouldn't happen between them. He quickly pondered his options and went for a respectful bow without saying anything. His best guess was that nobles didn't really care about the names of commoners or servants, he'd only make a fool of himself if he addressed someone who is supposed to be of a higher rank.

"I shall take my leave now, Lashara-sama." Dagmyer bowed his head to her once before he swiftly turned around and walked away.

Chiaia had almost called out him but the light brown haired young woman stood in her way. She stared at Chiaia for a moment, before respectfully bowing her head and followed after Dagmyer.

Lashara turned her attention to Ichika for a moment and said, "What's the matter Ichika? You look like you want to say something."

"Hmm?" Ichika looked at her for a moment then at Chiaia's back. "It's nothing. It's probably best left unsaid."

"Saying that makes me even more interested! I'm ordering you to say it."

"Hmmm..." Ichika approached Lashara and whispered into her ear. "Does Chiaia like that guy?"

Lashara giggled lightly. "Well it's complicated. I'll explain it some other time." she dismissed the topic with a wave.

Chiaia blushed as she shot Ichika an angry look. She probably knew exactly what he was told Lashara.

_[- - -]_

Ichika had now come to realize how stressful this job might actually be. It was amazing how standing behind two young girls, who were just standing an arm's length from each other, could make him feel more ill at ease than standing in front of forty girls who expected some grand self-introduction.

After a short detour to a large arena behind the school's main building. They headed up to the main building, where the headmistress' office was located. Already there was a young girl, about Lashara's age, and a young woman with silver colored hair. The young girl was about Lashara's height, long dark brown hair that was held into a pony tail by a white and pink hair bow. Like Lashara she was wearing the Academy uniform with green line markers. The young woman stood behind her, like he and Chiaia did for Lashara, she wore a white cape that was cut and held by golden buckles.

There was a long and still silence for a few minutes after they had entered the room. It seemed to Ichika that Lashara would rather stay in silence than talk to her. But unfortunately it seemed like the other girl didn't agree.

"I was worried when I heard that the Swan was attacked, Lashara Earth." she said with a graceful and dignified tone.

"Hmph! Don't say things that you don't mean." Lashara replied sounding very annoyed.

"I was worried about the people that are involved with you, getting injured." she clarified in the same tone. Then to spite Lashara more, she turned her attention to her escort. "Isn't that right, Yukine?"

Ichika watched from the corner of his eye as the silver haired nodded with only a low hum to voice her agreement. Ichika shifted his eyes to the other side and saw that Chiaia was trying her best to pretend that she was not here right now.

Could this girl be the princess that Mexiah had mentioned when they saw that ship earlier? And were they supposed to stay out of this argument?

"Hmph! How unfortunate then!" Lashara crossed her arms as she tried to control her temper.

"But, it is your nature to attract trouble. Try not to trouble Chiaia-dono too much." The brown haired had turned to look at Lashara, but noticed Ichika's presence. "Oh my... you've brought along quite a handsome young man here." She turned towards him instead and walked over, her face bright with a smile as she did.

Ichika pondered how to respond. But then Lashara rushed in between them and flipped the girl's skirt which gave him a clear view of a long lacy blue underskirt.

The brown haired girl, lightly screamed and rushed to pull down her skirt. "What are you doing!" She indignantly yelled at Lashara.

In response, Lashara laughed triumphantly with her arms on her waist. "As usual, you have such bad taste. You should wear something more suitable for children."

"Bad taste you say?" the brown haired girl stared at her with shock and irritation.

Lashara just looked at her haughtily and replied, "That frivolous lace is just a waste of expenses on a princess."

No to be trumped easily, the brown haired girl turned slightly and keep both her hands down. "This is my country's traditional lacing, even a child could make this. This is unlike your country with no technology."

"That's just because yours have no other industries."

Ichika could already foresee what was about to happen. The question was, what he was going to do about it? Seeing that Lashara has already taken steps to prevent him from facing a foreseeable humiliation. He felt inclined to act to protect her. Still, he wondered if his action will actually be of help or serve only to aggravate the situation. He was suddenly leaning towards inaction when he spotted a thick brown leather collar.

I'll definitely save her, he thought desperately.

He watched carefully as they two argued about the differences between their two countries. It was puzzling how a skirt flip could trigger such a stream of arguments. Then Ichika saw the moment the brown haired girl was waiting for. Lashara was on the roll with her counter insults and had dropped her guard.

He moved his hand to reach for Lashara's skirt, intending to pull it out of the brown haired girl's reach, when he felt the silver haired woman's hand on his shoulder that prevented him from moving. It also pushed his body to the side enough to get a full view of Lashara's frilly translucent purple underskirt.

Lashara's feeling of triumph was cut when she rushed to pull down her skirt.

"Purple, huh? Isn't yours a little too daring?" The brown haired girl teased.

"Unlike you, I am the ruler of my country!" Lashara almost yelled out indignantly.

But the brown haired girl didn't back down. "An unpopular one, who was almost assassinated."

Ichika curiously turned to look at the owner of the hand on his shoulder, who let go and returned to her former position without so much as a word or glance. Although she actually looked stiff and a little flushed... is she sick? He straightened himself and he sighed, wishing he had considered her stopping him a variable in his plan. If he had then they probably wouldn't be argu-

He suddenly realized that the two had stopped talking. He turned his attention towards them and saw that they were staring at him.

"Ichika! Which do you prefer?" Lashara asked as the two of them raised their skirts again, revealing their underskirt.

Ichika just blinked in response. How did he get into this argument?

"Now tell us, truthfully, which one you prefer." Lashara said as she walked closer to present show him his underskirt. Adding, "I won't be angry even if you chose Maria's."

Chiaia, being little miss obvious, whispered to him with an sadistically amused smile, "She'll definitely get angry." Chiaia, what ever happened to not participating?

Ichika looked at Lashara's skirt. Then to Maria's. He found it odd. These weren't underwear exactly. At least not the type that he's familiar with. And yet looking at them elicited the same embarrassed feeling when about seeing a girl's panties. And they were still kids for heaven's sake.

"It's alright. Just answer truthfully." Maria said confidently, But then added, "Even if you picked Lashara's, I know it'll be out of loyalty to your hopeless master." effectively negating the value of the honest choice out all of a sudden.

"Restraint is unnecessary!" Lashara followed, but that smile on her face told him otherwise.

Ichika quickly turned an eye to Chiaia to somehow ask for help; only for her to look away.

He turned at the two again; there were only two choices. Damned by a stranger if you side with your boss and damned by your boss if you side with a stranger. The choice was obvious.

He opened his mouth to answer, but he suddenly felt the silver haired woman tap on his shoulder. He turned and watched as the silver haired woman, pushed part of her white cape aside, raised her right knee slightly, bent down a little, letting her hand brush her leg as pulled her black skirt up till it passed her knee revealing her plain cut translucent pink underskirt.

Ichika was speechless as his head had quickly turned the shade of a tomato. He turned away and covered his eyes with one hand upon realizing how excited he was. It's just a skirt. It's just an underskirt. It's just a translucent underskirt. Why is it so sexy?

"I guess Yukine is our winner." Chiaia muttered.

Yukine blushed and let go of her skirt. Suddenly feeling a bit foolish and embarrassed by her own actions to stop the two girls.

The two girls let go of their skirts and sighed in disappointment at the sudden pointlessness of their previous actions.

_[- - -]_

Wahanly was in her campus workshop happy to find the package barring the ceremonial outfit, that she will wear tomorrow, ready and waiting for her. She had a lot to be happy for too. She was able to meet Shitoreiyu's new Queen, battle tested some of her inventions, to a commission for an invention request and she was going to become an official Seikishi soon. Everything seems to be going well for her.

She heard someone knocking on her door. She quickly answered and regretted it.

_[- - -]_

The audience with the academy's headmistress was rather uneventful. As per Lashara's calculations, making him look like her knight, saved him from the fate of wearing the collar. Ichika was silently thankful for that.

Lashara, despite being of higher rank, was processed second. It which only served to heat up her temper. But she behaved enough until they left the headmistress' office. Once out, however, Lashara didn't restrain herself from berating Ichika.

"Couldn't you have been more considerate?" Lashara grumpily asked.

"Huh?" Ichika had noticed that she was still angry, but why was it directed at him now?

Fortunately, Chiaia decided to save him the trouble of figuring it out by himself and told him that it was about the underskirts.

"Ah!... Sorry. I was going to pick yours but, that Yukine person caught me off guard."

"Hmmm..." Lashara started at his face for a moment and asked, "Is she your type?"

"Not, exactly." Ichika pondered about that. He's never really given type or beauty much of a thought. Just that if he like a girl, then he liked a girl.

"If I had to explain it..." He looked at Lashara and Chiaia's face and saw that they gave him a look that told him to explain it. "The way she lifted her skirt kind gave me the feeling that she'd welcome an advance."

Chiaia blushed for a moment, but then, burst out laughing. "Ha! So that's why you were blushing so hard! Pervert."

Ichika blushed shamefully. "Please, let it go." On the bright side, Chiaia was starting to warm up to him. It sure beat the cold shoulder by a long shot.

Lashara sighed. "To interfere when Maria and I are fighting, Maria's attendant Yukine was just as inconsiderate."

Ichika gulped nervously, as he realized that he had done the same. "She probably did so because I had also tried to stop things from escalating."

"eh?" that caught Lashara's attention.

"I realized that Maria-sama was waiting for a chance to flip your skirt as payback. I was going to prevent her from doing so. But Yukine-san caught and stopped me."

Lashara looked at him for a moment bewildered at his confession. "You were going to save me?"

"I tried to. Sorry."

Lashara smiled. "Then I'll forgive you..." Then crossed her arms as she leaned in towards Ichika. "If you answer one question."

Ichika nodded. "Which is?"

"What do you think of my underwear?" Lashara asked with a small blush on her face.

"I think it suited Lashara-sama perfectly!" Ichika answered honestly, as he thought that it wasn't such a big deal.

To Chiaia's surprise, Lashara blushed and looked away as she thanked him for the compliment.

Chiaia leaned towards and whispered "How could you say such things with a straight face?" she blushed as if it were her underwear that was being talked about.

Ichika looked at her a little puzzled. "But she asked me answer."

"Chiaia! There you are!" The three of them heard a familiar voice call out to them. They turned and saw Wahanly rushing towards them. She had almost ran passed them, but recovered and held onto Chiaia's hands with a pleading look on her face. "Please, be the witness!"

"Witness?" Chiaia repeated. It took her a moment to realized that Wahanly had been challenged to a duel.

_[- - -]_

Ichika carefully observed the preparations for the duel with some interest. It had surprised him, that a stone floor had appeared where a freshly trimmed lawn had been earlier. It reminded him of that smaller craft that appeared on the swan earlier. To each side of the stone floor, a shed revealing an awkward looking armors. The two looked completely the same, save for the shoulder armor which had been colored differently to mark the competitor. Wahanly's being colored blue and her opponent red. Upon seeing the armor, Ichika now realized this was probably that Dynamic Armor that Lashra had mistaken his IS for.

"Ichika," Lashara called his attention and patted the stone bench that she was sitting on, urging him to sit down beside her. He did with no reservation. "How similar is your... uh"

"I.S." Ichika supplied, as he was having the same thoughts.

"yes, IS... is your IS similar to that Armor?" Lashara asked in hushed tones.

"Hmmm... probably only the size is roughly the same." Ichika had answered quietly, as he leaned closer to make it easier for them to hear each other.

"What is it's power source?"

"I can at least tell you for sure that it's not powered by Ahou."

"What do you mean?"

"There are two main components of an IS. The Frame and the Core. How to create a Frame is open knowledge. Anyone with enough founds can develop their own type. But a IS frame will not run without a Core. The core is responsible for the armor's direct interface with the pilot, the supply of power to all its systems, flight, weapons, shield and with enough time Evolution. And fortunately or unfortunately, there is only one person who knows how to make one a and what its made of."

"Hmmm... I'm only guessing, but that thing on your wrist is not that core thing?" Lashara asked as she pointed at his right hand.

"Nope. It's just what we call the closed form."

"And what was that you said about Evolution?"

"Hmm... in simpler words, the armor might someday transform accordingly to its accumulated fighting experience and the pilot's fighting style."

"Whoa! That's incredible."

"What's incredible?" Mexiah asked as she poked her head in between the two of them.

"Mexiah!" Lashara nearly screamed in surprise as she drew away from Ichika and her future teacher.

"Mexiah-san..." Ichika too had almost jumped, but Mexiah already had her arms around his shoulders and had pressed herself onto his back.

"What are you guys talking so secretively about?" Mexiah asked, pretending to be pouting at them.

"We're not really..."

"Nee-san!" Chiaia exclaimed.

"Call me "Sensei"." Mexiah answered as she let go of Ichika. She stood and crossed her arms together. "At least while we're in the Holy Land."

True enough, Mexiah actually looked like a teacher. She wore a burgundy suit, over a cream colored shirt with a green necktie and a red rose over her left breast pocket. She had also tamed her hair into a single curled tail that hanged off her left shoulder. She look was different. But the air she gave off felt so familiar for a moment.

Feeling a little rebellious, Chiaia decided to drop calling her anything and just stated her question. "What are you doing here?"

But a man with long blonde hair walked over to Mexiah's side answered for her. "There are a lot of duels around this time of the school year. We're just watching over them."

Everyone then noticed that Ichika was staring at Mexiah with a befuddled expression.

"What's wrong, Ichika?" Lashara asked.

"Huh? Eh?" Ichika was shaken out of his reverie and passed a confused look at Lashara, then Chiaia and Mexiah. "W-where you saying something? Sorry, I wasn't listenting."

Chiaia answered on everyone's behalf. "We were just wondering why you staring at ne- Mexiah-sensei with such a strange look."

"Ah... um..." He looked at Lashara who only gave him the same curious look Chiaia gave him. He realized that he wouldn't get out of this one either so he answered. "For a moment, I thought I saw my older sister."

Everyone was surprised by the response.

Mexiah wrapped her an arm over his shoulder again and said, "Then I'd really like it if you started calling me the way you'd call your sister."

It was becoming increasingly clear that she would never let it go. He wasn't really against the idea and saw it no harm in referring to her like that. Just that everything has been sudden. Suddenly in another world. Suddenly in a queen's service. Suddenly very welcomed. It wasn't a bad feeling and decided to resign his resistance to the idea.

"Mexiah...nee." Ichika declared, with a slight blush on his cheeks. Yes... it definitely didn't feel bad to call her so. But it felt, kind of, licentious.

Mexiah smiled and hugged him closer as she lightly squealed with joy. "Ah! What a nice sound! So this is what it feels like to have a little brother!"

'Now that, definitely, felt licentious.' Thought Ichika.

The two combatants had either their armors and were being moved into the arena. Ichika listened as Mexiah told explained the functions of the armor, the long cable on its back, the stone plate battlefield and the duel weaponry. He was relieved to know that the beam saber that it was wielding wouldn't do any actual damage to the unit. He remembered how he had to decimate Cecilia's weaponry to end their duel, because he didn't want to remotely risk hurting her even with the absolute defense shield of the IS.

Around the duel platform, Ichika could sense that the students that have gathered were not really there for the duel. He could see a lot of the girls looking towards the and whispering amongst themselves. It reminded him of his first days in IS academy. It made him feel like a rare fish.

"Mexaih-sensei! Please behave yourself, there are students around!" Chiaia scolded her older sister, who was still clinging to Ichika, with little to no effect.

"More importantly, you customers are waiting." Mexiah pointed at the two armored duelists.

Chiaia gave up and turned her attention to her task. She formally asked if they were ready, to which both signaled with their unit's free arm. "Then -Begin!"

Both unit's activated their beam swords and began to lunge at each other. To Ichika the fight between two Dynamic Armors was much more tame when compared to an fight between two IS. But it looked like a much fairer fight. Or so he thought at the start. Wahanly's unit was moving a little sluggish compared to her opponent's and was slashed at the arm.

"See where the armor was hit? While the weapons are simulated, their movements will be restricted in accordance with the damaged received." Mexiah commented.

But Ichika had something else in his mind. "Mexaih-nee, are both of the armor's abilities the same?"

"Hmm?" Mexiah smiled as her interest in the young man grew even more. "Normally they would be."

Lashara made an angry noise similar to a grunt, but said nothing. Chiaia on the other hand started watching the match more closely, to see if what Ichika had noticed was true.

"Well done, not many would have noticed that someone has changed the control settings." Mexiah quietly praised.

"I've seen Wan in her Seikijin during the last attack. Compared to that time her movements in that Armor is just too sloppy."

Wahanly's movements really looked bad for a moment. Her machine looked like it was being toyed with and pushed around till she reached a corner of the stone plate. Cornered with nowhere else to run, Ichika realized what she had in mind. "I see, so that's Wan's plan."

"She's cornered!" Chiaia argued.

"But, so is her opponent." Ichika replied.

They looked at him for a moment and wondered how he came to such a conclusion.

Wahanly's challenger made her move. She charged with the end of her sword, as if to stab Wahanly. Wahanly's response was to jump high over her opponent and land on her feet. Then to add an enticing bait, Wahanly made it look like she lost her balance and made the armor fall to its knees. Not even the least bit suspicious, her opponent charged at her again to deliver the finishing blow. But before she could, Wahanly's unit stood and tackled her unit out of the battlefield where it fell on its back unable to move without Ahou in the air.

"The match is over! Victory goes to Wahanly Shume!" Chiaia declared proudly to the crowd.

Mexiah looked at Ichika, even more impressed that he foresaw Wahanly's victory.

Chiaia approached her sister and asked, "Mexiah-sensei, what will we do about the cheating?"

Mexiah looked at Wahanly, who was waving happily to the crowd who cheered over her victory. "It seems that a reprimand will be unnecessary. Isn't that right, Ulyte-sensei?"

The blond haired man beside her nodded. "Well, they've been lost already. I suppose we can skip it unless, Wahanly-dono files a complaint."

Chiaia didn't look too happy about it the decision, but said nothing. In the end Wahanly, even at with a disadvantage, she had proved that she was a skilled Seikishi and worthy to be in Lashara's employ.

Wahanly walked over to the Lashara and bowed. "I've won, Lashara-sama."

Lashara nodded. "You did well, Wan. But it was careless of you to get into a sabotaged unit."

"Ahahaha!" Wahanly nervously laughed. "I didn't think it was obvious."

"It wasn't." Lashara pointed her to Ichika with her eyes. "Ichika, pointed it out for us."

"Eh? Really?" She turned to Ichika, with fascination. "That's amazing for someone who just arrived from Kouchi."

"I was just lucky that I've seen you use a Seikijin to make a comparison." Ichika reasoned.

"If you think that was amazing." Mexiah interjected. "You should have heard how confident he was that you'd win, while we thought you were cornered."

Wahanly blushed and looked at Ichika who just shyly scratched his cheek.

"Well... it was a guess." Ichika muttered shyly.

"Thank you!" Wahanly happily smiled at him.

Since the match had ended. The crowd of students were beginning to break up. Some seemed like they had wanted to approach them, but gave up and went elsewhere. Wahanly had left for her workshop to get something, although she promised to head to Lashara's villa immediately after. The blond teacher had left as soon as he oversaw the proper clean up and return of the Dynamic Armor.

"Lashara-chan," Everyone turned their attention to Mexiah. Who, they now realize, has yet to let go of Ichika. "May I borrow Ichika-kun?"

Lashara wasn't exactly surprised with the request. "What for?"

"I want to bond with a new little brother." Mexiah said as she rubbed her cheek on Ichika's.

It was a joke. At least Ichika hoped it was. Chiaia didn't look like she'd agree to being related to him. But before she could say anything. Lashara gave her answer. "Well it would give Chiaia and Wahanly some peace of mind while they do their final fitting. Just have him at my villa before dinner."

"Alright, I will!"

Ichika had a very bad feeling about this.

_[- - -]_

After they had parted ways with Lashara and the others, Mexiah took him underground. Ichika had seen earlier that ships were entering the lower gate of the Holy Land, but he wasn't expecting such a large facility down here. There was even lighting to match the time of day on the surface.

When they boarded a small floating transport, that looked kind of like a small van, Ichika finally felt the need to ask Mexiah where was she taking him. "Mexiah-nee, Where are we going?"

"To one of the Seikijin hangers." She pointed towards a large cave in the distance ahead of their ride's flight path.

Ichika was beginning to worry that they were going a little too out of the way at first. But to a Seikijin Hanger of all things. "Why exactly?"

"To administer a impromptu aptitude exam. To see if you're capable of piloting a seikijin."

"Do I have to?" Ichika started to feel nervous. Lashara had mentioned that it would be troublesome if he could pilot one. Were males who could pilot them being used as data samples like he was? "I don't want to be a Seikishi."

"Unfortunately it's a mandatory exam, that is if you're planning on staying within the Sea of Ena."

For a long moment Ichika didn't answer. Being reminded that he wasn't from here, or even from the place he was claiming to be, had hit a sensitive spot... he didn't really have a home anymore. The fact that he was living comfortably after just coming here was thanks to his luck meeting and saving Lashara. In essence, she (and what little possession Chifuyu-nee able to smuggle into his IS storage) was all he had right now.

"Ichika-kun?" Mexiah looked over to him.

"You know I can't go back home."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way." Mexiah flashed him an sympathetic smile. "But it's just the way our society works. It's not really a bad deal. If you become a Seikishi; you get peerage, wealth and even a partner."

It sounded a little tempting to Ichika, even if it meant little to him, he was only human after all. But that last part confused him. "Partner for what?"

Her sympathetic smile turned playful. "Marriage."

"Marriage?" Ichika gawked in shock.

"That's right. In this world, the Seikijin is the ultimate weapon. To ensure the births of children with high abilities, the countries manage the marriage between Seikishi. Although female Seikishi who fulfill their duties are usually exempted from this. Male Seikishi, who are few in number, are not given such an opportunity."

Ichika sighed, feeling for pity for them. "So that's why Lashara-sama said it would be troublesome if I could pilot one..."

"Lashara-chan must really like you if she said something like that." Mexiah giggled. "But worry about it after we've gotten the results. As I've said it's extremely rare for a males to have the ability. In all likelihood we're just doing this as a formality."

"Okay." Ichika nodded, and hoped that it would turn out to be just that.

The crew stationed at the hangar was surprised to see the two of them. But their arrival was a welcomed distraction from long boring hours of watching the skies.

"Mexiah-sensei!" A young woman dressed in blue robes was surprised to see her step out of the floating bus, along with Ichika. "What brings you where?"

"Annalise, I need to borrow the Seikijin for a moment."

"I personally don't mind but..." The young woman, Annalise, gave Ichika a curious glance.

"Don't worry, it's just for a impromptu test for him." Mexiah pat Ichika's shoulder.

"Is he?" Annalise's curious expression was mixed with surprise.

"We don't know yet." Mexiah giggled. She knew very well what thoughts passed through the other woman's mind. "He just arrived from Kouchi and busied himself by catching the eye of Shitoreiyu's new queen."

"Really?" Annalise seemed to have found that even more interesting.

"She's made him her knight already." Mexiah playfully flapped Ichika's white cape, which also revealed his sword. "Look! Cape and sword!"

"That is impressive." And she was impressed. But more importantly, It would be a great story to share to her colleagues later. After all the new queen had just been crowned, how lucky did one have to be to just suddenly met her after arriving from such a isolated place as Kouchi. She looked at him intently. Although, Ichika didn't really understand why she was.

Then she smiled and shrugged. "Well, I suppose there's probably no harm in it."

"Thank you." Mexiah pulled Ichika towards the inactive form of the Seikijin. "Now, Ichika-kun. I want you to press your palm against the shell."

Ichika thoughtlessly looked at his right hand. "What happens then?"

"If it reacts and pulls you inside, then you have the ability to pilot."

"If nothing happens?"

"Then you won't have to worry about an arranged marriage anytime soon." Mexiah joked. And Ichika would have found it a little funny, if he wasn't the one going though with this test.

Ichika shrugged off anxieties for now, deciding it was best to get it over with.

He walked over to the skeleton like giant encased in a translucent green egg and reached out with his palm to the shell as Mexiah had told him.

The shell had felt odd in his hands. Soft, yet, firm and a little warm. It almost seemed flesh like. Thankfully it didn't have a "that" special shape that might have incited a wrong reaction.

A few seconds passed and nothing seemed to happened. Ichika sighed with relief.

Until the shell started to lose its form and proceeded to melt away starting from the top of the egg. The shell dripped onto the floor, yet, most of it poured towards Ichika.

"Ichika-kun! Let go!" Mexiah ordered, her voice mixed with panic.

Ichika did as he was told. And to their surprise the shell stop melting. It hardened to the viscosity prior contact with Ichika but did not revert to the egg shape.

"That was strange..." Mexiah muttered.

Ichika noticed that everyone looked even more confused than he was. "Has that ever happened before?" Ichika asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Mexiah walked towards and touched the untransformed part of the Seikijin's shell. As a Seieishi, a special Seikishi that has undergone a contract with the goddess, she had the power to repair the Seikijin by hereself, without the need to send it to the church. She had meant to enter and repair the unit so that they could try again. But the Seikijin would no longer respond to her.

"EH? It's not responding!" Mexiah tried again, but still it didn't budge.

Annalise walked over to Mexiah's side and tried her luck. But no matter how long they kept their hand on the shell, the Seikijin nor its shell would not respond.

Mexiah then had a thought and asked Ichika to touch it again. Ichika, was a little wary, but reached out to it again. And just as Mexiah had thought, it responded to him. But this time, it started melting the moment his feet got close to the already melted shell.

Not wanting it to get any worse, Mexiah told Ichika to back off before he could touch it.

"What's happening?" Ichika asked.

"We're not sure. Something like this has never happened before." Mexiah paused to gather her thoughts. "The Seikijin is definitely reacting to you, but not in the expected way or favorable way."

"Sorry." Ichika apologized. While he was glad that it wasn't working for him, he did not wish anyone trouble.

"It's not your fault. I was the one who pushed this." Thoughtfully, Mexiah gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned to Annalise.

"I'm sorry about this mess, Annalise. I'll inform the headmistress and your superior about this." She said as she headed towards a panel by the wall that distinctly looked like a cordless phone.

"Thanks. To be honest, I'm not sure how to explain this." Annalise tried to sound indifferent to the event, but Ichika could tell that she was troubled as she gestured to now malformed shell of Seikijin.

As Ichika waited patiently for Mexiah to finish her call, he couldn't help but feel responsible for the malfunction. Was it reacting like things because he was from other world? Could it be the reason why Tabane and Chifuyu-nee had to send him away? He wished he knew...

Annalise approached him slightly carefree smile. "Don't worry. It's not your fault. Feelings to reject the Seikijin isn't enough to make it go berserk. While most noble young men are willing and ready to go through tests like these, most commoners would rather keep their old lives and freedoms. While this case might be an exception, let us worry about it."

"Eh?" Ichika looked at her surprised at how she had known what he was thinking.

The woman in robes laughed, "What you were thinking was written all over your face."

Of course Ichika knew that she had not meant it literally. Still his hand had unconsciously crawled up to his face as if to inspect it for traces of wet ink. Annalise just flashed him an amused smile upon seeing such a silly reaction.

"The Headmistress said that she'll call for a specialist from the church to inspect it." Mexiah said as returned to their side.

"What'll happen to me now?" Asked Ichika.

"We'll have to wait until the specialist get here to check you and the Seikijin out." She turned to Annalise. "The headmistress told me that a replacement for this unit will arrive soon."

Mexiah then locked her arm to Ichika's slowly proceeding to drag him back into the flying bus. "Now then Ichika-kun, let's spend some quality time together!"

"Eh?" Ichika was puzzled for a moment, but recalled how she "borrowed" him from Lashara. "You were serious?"

She flashed him a dangerous smile. "Very."

_[- - -]_

To Ichika's relief though, it wasn't anything that he had thought inappropriate... especially for someone who wanted a sisterly relationship with him. Mexiah had taken it upon herself to get some clothes for him and dragged him into a tailor's workshop. He had intended to refuse, but she used the same excuse Chifuyu-nee had used till last year to choose his clothes for him when she had some free time. "An older sister is entitled to give her little brother gifts."

He did mention and reason that they weren't really brother and sister so she really did not have to. But instead he was lectured on how insensitive he acting and was somehow tricked into trying on some boots and shoes as well. By the end of the trip he had three pairs of shoes (each for a certain occasions), a pair black leather boots (because Mexiah thought he'd look cooler in them when he wore his IS uniform than regular shoes), and a set casual and formal wear (since apparently he needed to look good for Lashara's sake) and three to be delivered made to order copies of his IS uniform (just in case).

Just seeing the amount on the receipt made Ichika feel guilty.

"Mexiah-nee, I'll pay you back when I've earn my salary."

"There's no need. As I said those are gifts."

"But I'll feel bad if I don't give you something in return."

"Hmm... if that's how you feel. Why don't you give me something you'd give you sister."

"Like a massage?"

To Ichika's surprise, Mexiah's eyes lit up with anticipation. "You'll give me one?"

"Sure."

"Promise?"

Ichika nodded.

"Oh! But it's too late today. Let's do it another time." Ichika wasn't sure, but the way she said the later was surely not the way a sister would say it. However, he kept his mouth shut and followed her to Lashara's villa carrying his new clothes.

_[- - -]_

Lashara was a little surprised when they told her about the shopping. It saved time, but she had wanted to be the one to purchase them for him. She was, however, shocked to hear what had happened in the Seikijin hangar. She regretted letting Mexiah take care of him for a while, but it wasn't something she could take back. Fortunately, Ichika can't make a Seikijin work properly. If he did, then they'd really have to reveal that he's from another world to allow him to keep his freedom. He'd have callers day and night, and would probably not be able to serve her as much as she'd want, but he'll be free to choose how to live his life.

Come to think of it, why hadn't see explained that to him? Ah...yes, she needed him to be somewhat dependent on her. His arrival on her ship was very fortunate, she had needed a special piece to play against the other nobles of Shitoreiyu... It did not seem like much, but his "IS" might be her key to victory and survival. If luck was on their side, they'll have good fortune in the end. She'll apologize and tell him everything then.

**[...to be continued.]**

**Author's Note**: While I was disappointed by the lack of reviews, I decided not to let it bother me. I started this because I wanted to write this story. Thanks to everyone who did btw! And I knew before hand that the series is that I've crossed over isn't very well known despite being such a fun series (I blame the famous fansubbers for not picking it up! LOL).

This chapter came out later than I planned and longer than I had intended. I got a little stuck at one point and decided to refresh my mind by reading the translated Light Novel volumes of Campione! on Baka-Tsuki (Thanks Guys!). I only intended to read one, but ended up reading all the completely translated volumes.

I'm not completely happy about this chapter. But maybe because it was just that kind of chapter.

**Terminology Notes**: Because some of the fansubs seemed to be missing or using a terms that I just can't connect with... I decided to just make my own and will be explained here and if we're lucky during the course of the story. If you see terms that I forgot to mention or if you want to read it from me than searching wikipidea, add that to a review or pm me.

**Sea of Ena** - The Sea of Ena is the lower lands where it is filled with a magical air called Ena. The Ena can be used to create Ahou, which powers most engines and weapons without reliance on refueling as it's always present. Ahou however is dangerous to the human body and people who can tolerate prolonged exposure are small in numbers.

**Enaline** - The boundary of the of the Sea of Ena. It is kind of "Ena" version of waterline when referring to where the surface of the water meets the hull of a ship. Passed this boundary, anything that runs on Ena will not function. (This was originally Kissuigai, but unfortunately I cannot search Kanji for what it might mean. Romanji came out with no results. But if you want a clear picture, refer to episode 3 of Isekai no Seikishi Monogari and watch around minute 7 where the Swan enters the Holy Land.)


	5. 004 not quite like home

**The Story of the White Knight from Another World.**

_(a Infinite Stratos x Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari crossover)_

**[Chapter Four - not quite like home]**

The next morning came early to Ichika. Normally he was a slow riser, but all the walking he did the other day had made him gone to bed early. And although the luxuriously rich dinner that Maya and Angela servants prepared wasn't his usual fare, the activity level had compensated for it. Still he was considering an increase in his intake along with extra training.

He changed into his IS suit, it was made for physical activities, and a plain shirt (because the suit alone was embarrassing) before he walked out of his room with his sword at hand. He exited Lashara's villa, a rather large three story mansion that almost seemed extravagant for a student, if the student weren't a noble, much less a queen, and took in the fresh morning air.

It was one of the things he appreciated in this world. It was still so lush, green, and unpolluted. It almost made him want to reveal his secret and fly freely through the sky. But that'll have wait for later.

He started his exercise with jogging before he broke into a run when he felt more awake. He stopped running and switched to swinging his sword. The last time he had practiced his swing, he had the use of a heavy, hard-wood bokken and swing to three thousand (Houki was feeling competitive that day). But since he had a real sword, and he had already given in to the temptation swinging it yesterday, he felt that there was no harm in using it until he could arrange for a bokken.

He drew the blade and set the scabbard down a nearby tree. He appraised his surroundings for a moment to chose where to swing avoid injury upon himself or anyone that might come around. He had nearly reached a count of one hundred before he heard a door open. He stopped and saw Chiaia come out of the villa.

Ichika had wondered what to do for a moment. She seemed to dislike him and was suspicious of him, so he wanted to be careful with her. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to seem too careful; that it make himself look like he was up to something.

"Good Morning, Chiaia-san." he politely greeted her.

"Good Morning..." She muttered sluggishly.

He resumed his training, not minding as Chaia moved towards a locker and took out her own training tool. He tried not to look surprised when Chiaia lifted a large claymore. Ichika approximated that it was probably three quarters the size of Rin's Souten Gagetsu and probably half its weight. Rin had lifted the huge swords with an IS, but Chiaia lifted and swung her sword without one. He couldn't help but be impressed at her arm strength.

A little lost in thought, he almost didn't notice that Chiaia had stopped swinging her sword and was now glaring at him. "What are you looking at?"

"Eh? Ah... sorry, I was just amazed. My sister is the only person I can think off who could do what you're doing right now."

Chiaia tried not to blush, and although she was being compared to someone, she couldn't help but see his words as anything other than a complement. She was going to thank him, but, when she saw the sword he was swinging for practice, her pride suddenly changed the words that came out of her mouth. "It's no surprise if that's all your people swinging. I'm probably stronger than your sister."

Ichika laughed weakly at the insult. It was true that no one normally swung a sword that big and heavy for practice. Even if he had to be careful around Chiaia, he couldn't let her get away after slighting his sister. But he tried to be nice about it. "In terms of pure strength... maybe."

Chiaia frowned. She realized that she was the one that started it, but she couldn't stop it either. "Hmph! In that case I must be stronger than you."

She didn't see his response coming.

"I'm pretty sure you are." Ichika said without much of thought.

Chiaia, however, took it as a veiled insult or patronizing complement.

She glared at him for a moment. Ichika didn't realize that she wanted him to either take what he said back or to swear he wasn't just saying it. Then she sheathed the oversized weight training sword and headed back the villa for a moment.

Ichika resumed his training, thinking that he had screwed up somehow. And was surprised when Chiaia came out of the villa minutes later with two kinds of swords in hand, a large wooden claymore and bokken.

She came over to his side and offered the wooden blade.

"Spar with me!"

Ichika quickly realized that there was no way out of this and accepted the weapon. He returned his katana to is sheath and put it safely out of the way.

"Are you ready?" Chiaia asked as she got into stance, her sword already high above her shoulders.

Ichika held his sword in the ready. He had calculated that with her strength she would be able to swing that wooden claymore down at him like a normal sword. But the size might still impact the speed. He chose and strategy and nodded.

"HYAAAA!" Chiaia swung the sword down expecting Ichika to block.

But her surprise, Ichika used the back of his bokken to deflect her sword's trajectory. Then before she even knew what was happening, his wooden blade was just inches from hitting her eyes.

Neither of them moved. The air was tense, until Ichika withdrew his blade and stepped back.

Annoyed, Chiaia did what any annoyed swordswoman would do in a situation like this.

"Again!" demanded as she readied her sword, this time for a horizontal slash.

Ichika sighed, a little depressed that he was making her even angrier at him, but got his sword ready to counter.

Chiaia assumed that his stance meant that he was going to use his full weight to counter her move.

She did not yell out as she attacked this time, it might lessen the energy of the attack a little, but it was a small price to reduce his reaction time. She swung five seconds after Ichika had gotten into his stance. And as she anticipated, Ichika used his full weight on his swing to counter.

But the result was different from what she expected. He had used his sword do deflect her sword again. Almost like a stick lifting a rope in one's way. She then realize that he had used more momentum to not only deflect her attack but to step out it it's way and swing his sword at her neck in one move.

Like the first match, Ichika stopped short of hitting her and stepped way. And like the first time, Chiaia asked for a rematch.

_[- - -]_

Wahanly had risen early to give her time to make the trip to Lashara villa. Lashara had invited her for breakfast and to prepare for the ceremony with Chiaia.

It was very quiet this early in the morning. But as Wahanly neared her destination, the familiar sound of wood hitting wood became more and more obvious. She wasn't surprised to see that Chiaia already up, however, seeing Ichika swing a weapon one tenth the size of Chiaia's and win did.

She stopped and watched them from a distance. Chiaia would get into stance, then Ichika, a moment later, Chiaia would attack, Ichika would counter with moves she's never seen before, and go for Chiaia's vital point and stop before contact. Then they would repeat that... or rather they're not repeating it on purpose, but each outcome was the same.

Wahanly was impressed. Chiaia was probably one of the strongest students in the academy. A result of growing up with Mexiah-sensei, no doubt. But to see her lose, time after time, was surprise.

"Good Morning, Wahanly-sama."

She turned and saw that Lashara's senior maid had exited the building to greet her.

"Good Morning, Maya-san."

Maya bowed to her and gestured to the entrance. "Lashara-sama is waiting for you at the second floor."

"Okay." Wahanly had wanted to watch some more, but it would not be good to keep her employer waiting.

To Wahanly's surprise, Lashara was by the window of the waiting room watching the sparring match.

"Good Morning, Lashara-sama."

"Wan, Good Morning." Lashara greeted back, but her eyes never left the two outside.

"How long have they been at it?" Wahanly asked as she walked over to Lashara side.

"Maya had told me that they've been at it for a while."

They watched as Ichika deflect another one of Chiaia's attacks, but this time, moved away instead of taking victory. They quickly realized that, Ichika had foreseen Chiaia's second move and had made the move to avoid it before taking victory.

"Ichika is quite a swordsman."

Lashara nodded. "I had expected him to be good, but to keep up straight wins against Chiaia..."

"It's a good thing he isn't a Seikishi."

"Hmmm?" Lashara shot her a inquisitive look. "Wahanly. What are you getting at?"

Wahanly just smiled. It didn't need to be said that the young man was fair game.

_[- - -]_

Chiaia had almost thrown her sword at the guy in front of her, who had the gall to claim that he was not stronger than her, in frustration. Fortunately for Ichika, she fought the urge and settled with her aggravation by thrusting the wooden claymore into the ground as hard as she could, then let herself collapse to the ground and catch her breath.

"Ha- for someone- who's weaker- ha- than- ha- me. You sure are- ha- hard to beat."

Ichika, who wasn't at all drained by the match, gave her a guilty smile. But then dropped his sword and walked over to her claymore. He pulled it out with some effort, lifted it up, and swung it a few times.

Chiaia noticed that his arms were shaking slightly from the weight of the wooden claymore. It was too heavy for him.

"Strength wise, You win. If you haven't noticed, I kept making your attacks miss and avoided moves that would force me into a contest of strength and stamina."

Chiaia's mouth dropped. She had not noticed. Or rather she had, but she was so focused on getting an attack in, that she failed to realize she would not win if she didn't change strategies.

"If I had to fight you with the same weapon as you, I wouldn't have lasted a round. And I'm sure that if you broke through my defense I would have really gotten hurt even if you stopped in time."

Chiaia was starting to feel better. She had come to realize that he was honest about her being stronger. Him hiding his own skill peeved her a little at the start, but she has now recognized that as his humility.

Ichika thrust the sword to the ground. Chiaia had almost laughed when it didn't go anywhere near as deep compared to when she did it.

Ichika offered her a hand up.

"Thank you." Chiaia said has she took his hand and let him pull her off the ground.

"You're welcome."

He went over and picked up the bokken he dropped.

"May I continue borrowing this?"

"Sure." Chiaia said, although, it was technically property of Shitoreiyu, in other words, Lashara's, it wasn't something that would be terribly missed even if they broke it.

Ichika swung the bokken a few times until Chiaia's voice interrupted him.

"You're still not done?"

"I haven't trained nearly enough... considering the weight difference."

"Ah! That's right... you're still rather weak, you can't even swing this wooden claymore ten times." Chiaia said sarcastically.

"Hey! I won didn't I?" Ichika tried to sound offended.

They stared at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"Chiaia-sama. Ichika-sama."

The turned and saw Maya with a tray that held two glasses of iced tea.

"Both of you should freshen up before breakfast. Especially Chiaia-sama. Wahanly-sama and Lashara-sama are waiting for you."

Chiaia blushed, slightly embarrassed. Normally she would have stopped her morning training and prepare for the day without the need of any form of alarm. But in the heat of her spar she completely forgot about the time.

She quickly gulped her drink, fighting off the mild brain freeze, before dashing into the villa. But she stopped short of opening the door.

She turned her head towards Ichika. Then made a face he wasn't sure how to translate. But then nodded to herself and called out to him. "Ichika!"

"Yes?"

"W-would spar with me again?"

"Sure?"

"Then same time tomorrow!"

Chiaia dashed inside without waiting for a response.

Ichika sighed in relief. They had a rocky start, but he was glad that a certain cliché about people who have crossed swords applied in this world too.

_[- - -]_

After washing of traces of this morning's exercise and getting some food in his stomach, Ichika attended the ceremony with Lashara. His task was mostly to be her bodyguard, but he's eventually come to realize that he was also like a fashion accessory.

Lashara had ordered Maya and the others to get a special uniform prepared for him. Maya had told him that normally this military uniform was of a dark red and brown color. But since he served Lashara, and not the country, he was wearing Lashara's colors. A bright red uniform half covered by a long white cloak. He was not allowed to carry his katana, but Lashara had assured him that his presence was mostly a statement rather than a need. However, she was confident he could protect her if the need arose, he had a weapon from another world after all. Or at least that was how he took things.

So far things have been good. Their trek to ceremony's venue had been quite peaceful. Lashara had to stop and talk to some teachers and other nobles they passed. But so far, nothing that merited story telling happen. Although, it's seems that everywhere he looked, there was someone staring at them. Sometimes they would blush and turn away when he looked. Or they would giggle and squeal when his eyes met theirs.

'That was weird, the girls in IS Academy would do that too.' He thought.

He had accompanied Lashara to the Arena behind the Academy's main building. It was a huge stone stadium. Or at least the visible parts of it was. Inside was a sophisticated building that could match many of his world's most high-tech facilities. Although it seemed as if their technology had different roots, even though it seemed like they copied his world's technology. Are those coincidences too or have people from other worlds been their main contributor in technological development?

But those things seem to mean little to him really. It made him curious, yes. And he wanted to keep his IS from their hands just in case. But it has served this world well enough it seems. So he should just try and ignore all these "coincidences", lay low and adapt to this world as Lashara had advised him.

Which was easier said than done...

When they had arrived into the Arena and taken a box seat for themselves. He couldn't decide whether to blush or to laugh when the new upper class students, which included Chiaia and Wahanly, arrived in the Arena wearing a bunny suit (without the headband ears), a royal style burgundy cloak, a cat bell on their neck and carried a long golden staff with a cat paw and tail carved at opposite ends. Thankfully, he didn't burst out into laugher nor did Lashara turn looked at him when he was having trouble keeping his face straight.

According to Lashara those were ceremonial outfits from another world. She looked like she admired how nice they looked in it and maybe wishes to someday wear it herself. So he couldn't possibly tell her how that costume is usually perceived in his world. Definitely not.

The ceremony took almost all morning. To his horror, when each new upper class student walked up to the stage she was given an earmuff with the shape of a cat's paw and cats ears on the top. It was so ridiculous that he felt embarrassed for these young ladies. But unfortunately it will have to be his secret that he wasn't actually feeling hot from being dress too warmly and standing in the sun during the ceremony.

_[- - -]_

They returned to the villa for lunch and for Ichika to change out of the military uniform. He had changed into one of the casual clothes that Mexiah-nee had purchased yesterday. Although to him the outfit still felt quite formal... why was he wearing a black Gakuran of all things. Well it certainly felt more natural for him to wear compared to most of the choices in the tailor's shop.

He then accompanied Lashara to her class in place of Chiaia.

He had initially thought that it was that everyone had just return from a vacation, since he met Lashara on her way to the Holy Land. It turns out that she was returning to school after a leave of absence for her coronation. Maria had also attended, which explained why she seemed to have just arrived before them. So Lashara understood his confusion. When he asked about Chiaia and Wahanly who didn't join them for lunch, she told him that they were out meeting their new seniors in the upper classes.

It surprised him that their educational system was quite similar. The Holy Land Academy, at least held 6 years of education. Three years in under class and three years in upper class. Probably comparable to Japan's Junior High and High School levels. He wasn't sure about their elementary and college level educations, but it was clear that this academy focused on educating the rich, the powerful and their future soldiers.

It was almost a literal class difference, Lashara had mentioned that normal under class students had to render services to the upper class students and nobility, but the main distinguishing difference was that the upper class students, at least the female students, were officially Seikishi. The under classes seemed like a preparatory level for those wishing to become Seikishi. He wasn't sure if Lashara was aspiring to be one. While she was a brave young ruler, she didn't give off the feeling that she could fight... except unless it was an argument with Maria. But he understood that this was the best academy around this continent and was where all Seikishi and Nobles come to study.

Lashara had him sit in class with her the rest of the day. Being there was technically Ichika's job as her bodyguard, but she argued that sitting in during lessons could help him understand this world better. He thought that her suggestion had merit. That was until he wished to leave the room after the first ten minutes because Lashara's classmates would not stop staring at him.

_[- - -]_

Chiaia was feeling happier than she had expected since the ceremony. She was a little upset that she couldn't win against Ichika at all this morning. But somehow the elation of wearing the special ceremonial suit and receiving her cat-ear band had made it go away. It didn't even bother her that half the time, her seniors were asking questions about Lashara-sama or her new knight. She was in such a good mood, that she had not minded to tell them all about him (at least the things she actually knew).

Dagmyer Mest was a those recently promoted into the upper class. He was being bounced around from girl to girl, greeting, flirting, chatting, like all male Seikishi was expected to. But his ears caught Chiaia's conversation with their seniors.

And he couldn't quite believe it. A man, who wasn't stronger nor a Seikishi, had defeated the one person he couldn't. Statistically, Chiaia wasn't the strongest, but she was the only one who was willing to spar a male Seikishi seriously. And to Dagmyer, that a victory over her was the only one that would have merit to his progress.

He excused himself from the current group of girls and walked towards Chiaia, who had just broken off from some seniors to get some refereshments.

"Chiaia."

"Dagmyer." Chiaia said his name happily as she turned towards him.

"Congratulations." He said with such a sincere smile that he had almost convinced himself he meant it.

"T-thank you. C-congratulations to you as well."

"Thank you."

He watched as Chiaia become like a shy little girl. Her feelings had been so transparent, that he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He had been trying to keep their a certain balance with their relationship, not friendly but not distant, thinking it might come in handy someday. Like for this situation; to get some information.

Chiaia couldn't help but feel even more elated now that man she had feelings for was talking to her. Even though they were childhood friends, the chances to be alone enough for a private conversation was very minimal since they entered the Academy. It had especially hard to talk to him since that Emera had been assigned as his servant and personal guard. But even when they did get a chance to talk, she never could quite muster her voice to come out properly nor could she express the find anything to talk about. It had always been like this since she realized her feelings. He'd approach her and say something with a dashing smile, she'll try to respond, he'll say something in return, and the soon fall into silence. But still she was happy.

But then...

"I happened to overhear-" Chiaia gave her full attention to Dagmyer. "-you talking to the seniors earlier. Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Chiaia had said a lot of things to the seniors; most of them had been true. But she had to complement them sometimes and most of the time she had to lie.

"That you lost to Lashara-sama's new knight?"

Chiaia tried not to let Dagmyer see how sad she suddenly felt when he asked her that. "Y-yeah. He's quite skilled."

"Is he a Seikishi?"

"No, according to him he's an exile from Kouchi."

Dagmyer quickly noticed, Chiaia's mood and decided to end his inquiry. He got what he wanted and switched his objective to damage control and salvage some of her mood. "But didn't you say you were stronger?"

"I did. But he still defeated me time after time."

"Don't feel so bad. It's probably experience level. I'm sure that your own training will show it merit someday."

"You think so?"

"I haven't beaten you."

"Sometimes I don't think you're actually trying."

"Perish the thought!" Dagmyer dodged the friendly accusation. But it was true. He had not actually tried hard enough to defeat her in a spar. He would quit at some point, knowing that she would eventually over power him. So rather than experience that, he chose to give up gracefully with the timing of a nobleman. Chiaia probably might have noticed, but, since male Seikishi were forbidden to exert themselves too much and hurt themselves, she would have had no choice other than to let it go anyway.

Chiaia laughed, although not quite as lively as when she was talking to the seniors before, and Dagmyer thought that it was enough to leave her and not feel guilty about what he had done.

"Well, I should go greet the others. I'll be seeing you, Chiaia."

"Alright, Dagmyer." Chiaia tried to hold the smile on her face as Dagmyer left and sighed once he was out of sight.

'Ichika, you better be ready. I won't go easy on you tomorrow.' Was the bone chilling thought that passed through Chiaia's mind.

Wahanly on the other hand was still having a great time. Since her Dueling Debut the seniors have easily come to accept her as one of them. Although, she was quite sure that half of said acceptance was because they wanted even a tiny scrap of gossip she could give them about Lashara-sama's new guard.

She was willing to shared it. She loved gossip. But there was something special about being the source of it. She told them all that she knew. Where he was from, how he got his job and even hinted that Mexiah-sensei might be attracted to him.

Wahanly had also told them about what Mexiah-sensei had informed her after the battle; that Ichika had predicted her victory. Of course the other girls were impressed. The popular quartet especially squealed excitedly at her story. The young man might not be a Seikishi, but a great lot of them would choose a cool strong type over a male Seikishi (if given the choice).

She was going to save the story about his sword skills for another time, but it seemed like they had already heard it from Chiaia and asked her for confirmation. And she did confirm it all true... which only increased the young man's popularity rating. But she did keep the time he was practicing his other-world technique. She had to time that right for maximum impact.

Wahanly was surprised when the crowd noise suddenly died down. She turned and saw that the most remarkable senior was on her way towards her. The Dark Elves' Princess' Aura Shurifon. She wasn't surprised that the princess was walking towards her. She knew that she would come to talk to her eventually; as she had done the same to other new upper class students.

"Congratulations on your official ascension, Wahanly Shume."

"Thank you, Aura-sama. I am honored." Wahanly tried to sound solemn and formal.

"That was an impressive reversal yesterday." Wahanly immediately knew that she was talking about the duel yesterday. But she was surprised when the slightly older dark elf leaned in and whispered, "Especially when your unit was sabotaged."

"Whatever do you mean?" She tried to make it look like she didn't know.

Aura's, however, just smiled. "We're not off to pursue the incident. It's just I'm wondering why you weren't. After all you could have bolstered your own reputation."

Wahanly tried to laugh. Why wasn't she pursuing the incident? It could increase her salary and even get another sponsor for her research. She was taken back from her thoughts when Aura giggled at her serious expression.

"You're much more interesting than I thought, Wahanly-san."

Aura left her alone with that and had moved on to the next junior on her list to greet. Wahanly just watched her leave, her thoughts still wondering why she didn't report that incident. Her only excuse to herself for now was- the ceremony.

_[- - -]_

In one of the Seikijin maintenance hangar. A crew of several women had been working since the early morning; trying to understand what exactly happened to the shell of this now deformed unit. And just an hour before noon, they had some semblance of results. Which was why the old headmistress had personally come here instead of socializing with the upper class students in their party.

"Headmistess! I could have come to you later." The specialist from the church was surprised to see the old woman at such a time.

"It's alright. This is quite important, isn't it? Besides, they'll be able to relax better without this old woman lurking about."

The specialist laughed, knowing that the headmistress' later statement to be true. "I'd like to report that this Seikijin is now completely inoperable."

"It can't be repaired?"

"I'm not sure of that at this time. From our analysis, the supreme command program has been corrupted somehow."

"Corrupted?"

"Yes. There are signs that something had interfaced with the unit that tried to rewrite the system."

"By something, did you mean the testee?"

"Testee?"

"Yes, this unit was used for an impromptu ability exam."

"I wasn't told about that."

"Well, it seems that Mexiah-sensei had brought a young man to this Seikjin and it resulted to this when he touched it." The headmistress gave her the briefest summary of the event. "Do you think he could be the cause?"

"I doubt that's the case, but it might be worth looking into." The specialist was a little worried that contact with person could render a Seikijin inoperable, regardless of how unlikely it could be.

"Shall I arrange for him to meet you?"

"Uh... No, not for now at least. We'll try to figure this out from this end." The specialist thought that they should be careful and handle this without alarming anyone. She didn't believe a human could possibly have such an effect in such a small amount of time.

"Alright... Continue."

"The attempted rewrite of the system had failed. We do not know why or to what purpose was the system being rewritten. Roughly sixty percent of the Shell however is salvageable. The skeletal frame however, needs a complete over haul. In the time that the shell was infected, it had attempted to dislodge the Ahou reactors, partially loosen joints and ligaments, almost disassembled cockpit, completely wiped the infected shell's supreme command program and rendered the memory irretrievable."

The headmistress was surprised at how much damage had been wrought to the Seikijin because of a brief touch. She was suspicious of the young man now that this had happened.

'People from Koichi are said to think that the world covered with Ena an evil place. But he was the visitor here, so it would not be wise of him to make an enemy of them on purpose. Perhaps, he did not want to pilot, but had the ability. To save himself, from being made to pilot, he risked alienating himself by disabling the unit. Yes that makes more sense... but did they even have means to know if they had the ability?' Thought the headmistress.

"Is that all?"

"It would be easier to just recycle this unit than repair it." the specialist jokingly added. "But for now, I'll arrange for a replacement, while we study this unit."

"Very well. Keep me appraised on your progress."

"Of course."

The headmistress soon left, probably to make an appearance to the senior's party. Unknown to the headmistress, the specialist was having similar thoughts. But in her case, she thought that it would be best to kept this a secret for now. Panic could spread to their Seikishi should the knowledge of a person capable of rendering their greatest weapon into a pile of junk. She also did not want to alert the culprit, if it was intentional. It might provoke more incidents and trigger to her first scenario.

_[- - -]_

"How was your first day, Ichika?" Lashara asked as she playfully spun around and walked backwards to talk to her bodyguard.

"Well... the feeling in class was oddly familiar."

"How so?"

"On my first day in IS Academy the girls wouldn't stop watching me either." He sighed at the memory of the days where the girls from other classes would come by their classroom door to gawk at him between classes. If only a class of forty girls staring at you wasn't enough to unnerve him.

"I bet that it wasn't just on your first day."

"How did you know?" Ichika looked at her in surprise.

Lashara just flashed him a knowing. She was silent for a moment before suddenly calling out to him again.

"Ichika."

"Yes?"

"Do you have a girlfriend or fiancé back home?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh nothing... nothing at all." Lashara answered as she hid the smile that graced her lips by spinning around and walking properly again. She was happy that he wasn't attached. But even if he did, he would have no choice other than to give up. She herself wasn't sure if she wanted to pursue a relationship with the young man. Selling him to a rich (or important) Seikishi or noble woman seemed more likely, but it wouldn't hurt to build a friendship now.

"What is your favorite food?"

"Grilled Salmon."

"Salmon?"

"Err... a fish from my world?"

"Favorite activity?"

"Hmm... cooking and playing video games..."

"Video Games?"

"It's rather hard to explain, but I believe my sister had threw in one in my things. I'll show you later."

"Okay. So you can cook?"

"My sister raised me on her own. So I wanted to take care of her."

Lashara continued asking him random questions until they reached without giving him time to ask any himself.

Ichika didn't mind it too much. He had thought it was cute of the young girl to be curious about him. His friend's sister, Ran, was the same after she got used to having him around. Now that he thought about it, Rin had interrogated him like this before. Maybe it was a just girl thing.

_[- - -]_

The next day, Ichika was slightly regretting to agreeing to spar with Chiaia again. The girl was even more aggressive than yesterday and would not give him too much of a break despite being the one who exerted more energy in her attacks. Her stamina had once again impressed him though. She was fighting slightly better than yesterday, but Ichika easily sensed that she was still fighting with her gut than her mind.

"Chiaia-san, I said I was going to spar with you today too. But why do I feel like you want to kill me today."

"It's just your imagination!" She said as she swung her sword.

Ichika ducked and took the victory with a straight trust towards her throat.

"Really?" Ichika didn't believe her. They reset their positions to start over.

"Really!" Chiaia didn't believe herself either. She swung with all her strength, intending to complete a full revolution to make a second attack.

But Ichika stepped in closer threatening to tackle her, which made her stop and fumbled to improvise her second move only to noticed that he had already won with an almost slash towards her abdomen.

"Again."

Ichika stepped away, but didn't assume a stance.

"Again!"

Chiaia demanded.

But Ichika's stance stayed neutral. "Anymore and you might be too sore for classes."

"I don't need your concern."

"But-"

"He's right Chiaia."

The two turned and saw Mexiah exiting the villa via the main door. Ichika had saw her arrived earlier, but he was focused on the spar that he almost forgot her.

"And even if he wasn't, you'll be late for classes if you don't start getting ready."

Chiaia clicked her tongue in slight annoyance, but decided to stop here. She still didn't achieve a single victory, but after moving her body so much she felt a little better. She put her sword away and left without a word.

Ichika sighed. He was a little relieved that it was over. And a little sad that his relationship with Chiaia was rather tense again just when he thought they were almost friendly.

"You should get ready too, Ichika-kun."

"Right." Ichika nodded. He gathered his sword from a makeshift stand and proceeded inside to head for his room.

It didn't not take him long to notice that Mexiah was following him.

"Mexiah-nee?"

"Yes?" she said sweetly.

"Why are you following me?"

"To wash your back of course!"

"I'm fine."

But she just smiled at him fully intent on doing as she pleased. Ichika had to race her to one of the bathrooms and lock the door to safety. Fortunately he succeeded, or rather, he later realized that Mexiah had been teasing him and there was no lock on the door.

_[- - -]_

On the way to school, Chiaia was briefing Ichika on how to perform their other duties as Lashara's personal servants. Other than to protect her when the need arose, they would also act as maid or butler, one of their daily tasks was fetching Lashara's portion of Lunch. Usually under class students were to serve the upper class students before getting their own portions. But Lashara was a noble and was entitled the right to be served despite it being her first year in the academy. So it was their job to get her lunch and theirs.

"So, after we've escorted Lashara-sama to class, we'll drop by the galley and I'll introduce you to the head cook. So that we can give him time to add one more portion."

"Alright." Ichika nodded.

"I'll leave you to return to her classroom on your own. I have my own class to get to."

"No problem."

"Mexiah-sensei, please let go of Orimura. We're almost at the public walkways".

"It's not "Sensei" yet, call me Onee-chan." Mexiah playfully said as she kept her arm linked with Ichika's.

Lashara tried to rid her face of the pout that had locked itself after seeing Mexiah monopolize Ichika. None of them could see it, since she was walking in front of them, which she was thankful.

When they did arrive at the publlic walkways. Mexiah had slipped off Ichika's arm, but still walked beside him. Lashara just listened to them chat.

"Mexiah-nee, do you usually come over Lashara-sama's villa in the morning?"

"Usually not without an invitation."

Ichika looked at Lahara's back and was surprised when she suddenly said. "I'm sure you're wondering, so I'll save you the trouble. I didn't invite her today."

"O-okay." he muttered as he wondered if she really wasn't a mind reader.

"No."

"How are you doing that?!"

Lashara laughed, a little happy she had somehow managed to enter the conversation.

"I came to see if the rumors were true." Mexiah said.

"Rumors?" Ichika asked a little curious. His circle right now was limited to Mexiah, Lashara and her three maids.

"How Lashara-chan's White Knight was a skilled swordsman, able to wield a katana and fought power with speed and technique. Or how said Knight might be a Seieishi, after completely recovering from his injuries in just a night. Or how he might be an avatar of a god of victory after giving his blessings to Wahanly when she was about to lose her duel."

Chiaia, who walked closer to Lashara's side, looked at the young queen apologetically. At least one of the rumors were surely an overblown version of what she had told the seniors. Although, to her surprise, Lashara looked amused and quite pleased. She wasn't sure what the girl had in mind for the young foreigner.

Ichika was surprised, confused and befuddled. While there were tiny bits of truth in the rumors, he wondered how could the story gotten so warped and exaggerated without proof. Adding the fact that he had only been here for a few days, he couldn't help but feel worried.

**[...to be continued.]**

**Author's Note**: To be honest, this chapter was late because of a mental drought (mental block seemed insufficient). I was also a little unsure about how it turned out. I left it alone for a while, which made proof reading a little easier, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. But I've delayed it too much already and decided to just release this chapter anyway.

Many thanks to Seto-fan1 and Belariard for a substantial reviews.

**Terminology notes:**

**Shell - **The gel like shell of a Seikijin in its inactive form. This gel read the user's biometrics and transforms into the flesh, armor and tail of the Seikijin in accordance to the user's power and elemental affinity.

**Supreme Command Program** - In the series, the shell of the Seikijin "seemed to be" as called "Soushiki" which was translated into "Supreme Command". It felt confusing to use either term. So Instead the Shell, which will be treated as an advanced form of metamorphic material, is embedded with the Supreme Command Program.


End file.
